Researcher | Research Overview
The main focus of his research is the investigation of genomic caretakers, the molecular entities that play a crucial role in preserving the integrity of the genome and in averting severe risks to human health, such as cancer. A new era of targeted therapies is revolutionizing cancer treatment by targeting the underlying molecular mechanism of the disease, and it is now a feasible objective to drastically reduce mortality from cancer, making it a manageable condition. He explores the fundamental mechanisms of the proteins that are indispensable in preventing the onset of cancer by integrating cutting-edge single-molecule techniques and state-of-the-art biology.
Many biological reactions are too intricate to fully comprehend using conventional ensemble techniques. At the most basic level, all biological reactions take place via the action of single enzymes, DNA or RNA molecules. His single-molecule techniques offer unprecedented data on elementary biological processes, enhancing our understanding and providing new paradigms. Most recently, he applied the mechanistic knowledge obtained through in vitro single-molecule measurements to develop innovative biotechnologies suitable for mammalian cells and employed next generation sequencing to develop high throughput biophysical assays.
Researcher | Research Background
Dr. Taekjip Ha is a Senior Investigator of Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. He is also an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He develops and uses single molecule and single cell measurement tools to study life at high resolution, with genome maintenance as research focus.
Dr. Ha received a bachelor in Physics from Seoul National University in 1990 and Physics Ph.D from University of California at Berkeley in 1996. After postdoctoral training at Stanford, he was a Physics professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign until 2015, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University until 2023.
Dr. Ha serves on Editorial Boards for Science. He is a member of the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Medicine, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the 2011 HoAm Prize in Science and was elected as President of the Biophysical Society in 2021.