About

Sheng Sun's research focuses broadly on understanding how gene expression is regulated in the human pathogenic fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans. In A. fumigatus, the work investigates how unstable ploidy changes can dynamically rewire the transcriptome in response to antifungal compounds and drive transient multidrug resistance. In C. neoformans, the research explores the roles of novel long non-coding RNAs in temporally controlling gene expression during a -alpha sexual reproduction, a process that leads to the production of infectious spores. Sheng Sun uses next-generation sequencing techniques, including Illumina DNA and RNA-seq and Nanopore direct RNA-seq, along with molecular genetics, to explore these questions. Sheng Sun received a B.A. with High Honors in Biology from Dartmouth College in 2023 and joined the Molecular Genetics and Microbiology program at Duke that same year. His undergraduate research focused on characterizing genes involved in the biofilm-specific hypoxia response in A. fumigatus.

Research topics

• Biology
• Genetics
• Computer Science
• Programming language
• Computational biology
• Cancer research
• Microbiology
• Bioinformatics
• Medicine
• Immunology

Selected publications

• Parallel Genomic Alterations of Antigen and Payload Targets Mediate Polyclonal Acquired Clinical Resistance to Sacituzumab Govitecan in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

  Cancer Discovery · 2021 · 211 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Cancer research
  • Biology

  .

  DOI

• Transposon mobilization in the human fungal pathogen <i>Cryptococcus</i> is mutagenic during infection and promotes drug resistance in vitro

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 71 citations

  • Biology
  • Microbiology
  • Genetics

  is an important mechanism that enhances microbial adaptation and promotes pathogenesis and drug resistance in the human host.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Centromere scission drives chromosome shuffling and reproductive isolation

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 81 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Biology
  • Genetics

  The resulting DSBs were repaired in a complex manner, leading to the formation of multiple interchromosomal rearrangements and new telomeres, similar to chromothripsis-like events. The newly generated strains harboring chromosome translocations exhibited normal vegetative growth but failed to undergo successful sexual reproduction with the parental wild-type strain. One of these strains failed to produce any spores, while another produced ∼3% viable progeny. The germinated progeny exhibited aneuploidy for multiple chromosomes and showed improved fertility with both parents. All chromosome translocation events were accompanied without any detectable change in gene sequences and thus suggest that chromosomal translocations alone may play an underappreciated role in the onset of reproductive isolation and speciation.

  DOI

• Loss of centromere function drives karyotype evolution in closely related Malassezia species

  eLife · 2020 · 74 citations

  • Biology
  • Genetics

  species complex through breakage and inactivation.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Joseph Heitman

  Duke University Hospital

  484 shared

• Marco A. Coelho

  Duke University

  105 shared

• Anna Floyd Averette

  84 shared

• Song Fan

  59 shared

• Vikas Yadav

  Duke University Hospital

  59 shared

• Keisha Findley

  National Human Genome Research Institute

  52 shared

• Ci Fu

  University of Toronto

  47 shared

• Giuseppe Ianiri

  University of Molise

  38 shared

Education

• PhD, Biology

  McMaster University

  2009

• MSc, Biology

  McMaster University

  2005

• MSc

  Chinese Academy of Sciences

  2002

• BSc, Biology

  Xiamen University

  1999

Similar researchers at Duke University

• Robert J. Lefkowitzh-328
• Avshalom Caspih-242
• Darell Doty Bignerh-190
• Christopher Bang Newgardh-175
• Kun Shan Carolyn Leeh-168