Our research interest focuses on elucidating the molecular and cellular basis for the loss of immune self-tolerance, which promotes B cell responses in an autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus). My lab is interested in understanding the mechanisms that drive B cell differentiation in the extrafollicular antibody-forming cell (EF-AFC) and follicular germinal center (FO-GC) pathways in the generation of pathogenic and somatically mutated antinuclear antibody (ANA) production in SLE. My lab has pioneered in identifying the cell-intrinsic roles and mechanisms of autoimmunity-driven and spontaneously developed AFCs (Spt-AFCs) and germinal centers (Spt-GCs) in developing autoreactive B cells, autoantibody production and SLE pathogenesis using several SLE mouse models. We have generated various tissue-specific conditional and inducible conditional knockout systems on the SLE-prone mouse background to better understand the cell-intrinsic mechanisms by which various signaling pathways promote autoimmune B cell responses during systemic autoimmunity development. 

• Travel Award from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) to attend the annual meeting in New Orleans, LA - 2015
• Travel Award from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) to attend      the annual meeting in Pittsburgh, PA - 2014
• Travel Award from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) to attend the annual meeting in Boston, MA - 2012
• Virginia Riddle Memorial scholar award associated with Arthritis National Research Foundation research grant (2008-2009)
• Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) scholar award - 2008
• Travel award to attend Arthritis Foundation research conference in Atlanta, GA - 2007 
• Scholarship from the National University of Singapore to pursue PhD (1996-2001)
• Scholarship from the Chinese Government to study Medicine in China (1987-1995)