PI
Research Group
Yi Rao
yrao@pku.edu.cn
  Distinguished Investigator
Research Direction

The Rao laboratory at CIMR focuses on the level of genes and molecular interactions to study biology and pathophysiology related to human health, trying to understand mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis and to improve treatment of human diseases.

Major Research Projects
1. Mechanistic Dissection of Human Diseases at the Molecular Level.
2. Molecular Basis underlying the Treatment of Human Diseases.
Major Contributions
1. Revealing the contribution of defective glutamine transport into synaptic vesicles as the basis of innate human intellectual disabilities (eLife, 2023).

2. Discovering the first gene required for facial recognition of humans (Genetics,2024).
3. Discoveries of GPR39 as an evolutionarily conserved receptor for bile acids and of its involvement in biliary acute pancreatitis.(Science Advances,2024).