The research in Yu lab is focusing on the molecular mechanisms of assembly, function and regulation of ion channels and membrane receptors. Currently we are interested in the transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, proteins which are essential for sensory physiology and have been shown to play crucial roles in human diseases. So far, TRP channels has been shown to be involved in the formation of sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, temperature, and pain sensation. We use cultured mammalian cells, Xenopus oocytes and zebrafish as model systems, and study structure and function of ion channels and receptors with a combined molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics, x-ray crystallography, and electrophysiology approach.
