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Contact Information
Name  
 Kaiyao HUANG
Academic Title  
   Professor
Education  
   Ph.D.
Phone  
   86-27-68780901
 E-mail 
   huangky@ihb.ac.cn

Personal Profile：
Education
Marine Biological Laboratory                                 Woods Hole, MA
Fundamental Issues in Vision Research                                       2008
(Course director: Sandra K. Masur and David S. Papermaster)   
University of Freiburg                                          Freiburg, Germany
Ph. D., Molecular genetics                                                            2003
Dissertation: Phototropin is the blue light receptor that controls multiple steps in the sexual life cycle of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 
Wuhan University                                                         Wuhan, China
Master, Genetics                                                                           1998
Transformation system of Cyanobacteria 
Hubei University                                                           Wuhan, China
B.S., Biology                                                                                  1992 
 
Research Experience:
Institute of Hydrobiology.C.A.S                                   Wuhan, China
Group Leader                                                                   2011-Present
Biogenesis and turnover of organelles cilia and oil droplets 
Yale University                                                             New Haven, CT
Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Associate Scientist                2004-2011
Biogenesis and turnover of an organelle- the flagellum/cilium
─  Membrane vesicle trafficking from the cytoplasm, to the flagellum,and into the medium
─  Ubiquitin conjugate system in the flagella and its role in flagellar disassembly and signal transduction
High throughout screen of the putative drug for cilia related human diseases using Chlamydomonas flagellum as a model 
University of Freiburg                                              Freiburg, Germany
Graduate researcher; Advisor: Christopher F. Beck                1998-2004
Blue light receptor and blue light signaling in Chlamydomonas
─ Study the function of the blue light receptor in the sexual life cycle of Chlamydomonas
─ Examine the localization and function of the blue light receptor in the flagellum

Research Directions：
We are interested in the dynamics of organelles and using flagella/cilia and oil bodies (oil droplets) as models to address how hundreds of proteins and lipids assemble into organelles, and how organelles disassemble temporally and spatially.  
     Cilia /flagella are hair-like organelles emanating from the cell surface of most eukaryotic organisms and perform important motile and sensory functions. Defects in cilia result in such seemingly disparate human diseases as polycystic kidney and liver diseases, retinal degeneration, hydrocephalus, and infertility.  
     Oil bodies, also called lipid droplets in animals and lipid particles in yeast, are intracellular storage of neutral lipids surrounded by a monolayer of phospholipid with attached or embedded proteins. They are main resources for making renewable energy biodiesel. 
     We are taking advantage of the models such as green algae Chlamydomonas, zebrafish and mammalian cell lines to study the following questions:  
1. Biogenesis and turnover of flagellar membrane.
The biogenesis of flagellar membrane is fundamental for the sensory and motile functions of cilia and flagella. We want to know how Golgi-derived vesicles target to the base of flagella/ cilia and across the diffusion barrier and enter to the cilia/flagella; which mechanisms control the dynamics and distribution of membrane proteins in the flagella; and how flagellar vesicles pinched off into the medium and what biological functions of this process are. 
2. Disassembly of cilia and flagella.
Assembly and disassembly of cilia and flagella are highly coordinated with the cell cycle. My previous work shows that ubiquitination is involved in flagellar disassembly. I plan to continue with the identification new factors in flagellar disassembly; elucidate of the mechanism of ubiquitination in flagellar disassembly, and disassembly of primary cilia in mammals. 
3. Biogenesis, turnover and secretion of oil droplets.
My long-term goal is to engineer green algae for producing biodiesel.  Biodiesel refers to an alternative fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters made from transesterification of the triglyceride, the main stored lipid in oil bodies. We are using the Chlamydomonas to study the cellular and molecular mechanism of biogenesis and turnover of oil bodies and another green algae Botrycoccous to study the mechanisms of oil droplet secretion.  
Social Titles：

Awards & Honors：
Recent Publications：
1.      Huang K., Tsao C., 2010, Importin-β2: a key to two gates? 2010, Protein&Cell 1(9):791-792.  (Huang K is corresponding author)

2.      Huang K., Diener D., Rosenbaum J., 2009, The ubiquitin conjugation system is involved in the disassembly of cilia/flagella. Journal of Cell Biology, 186:601-613.

3.      Huang K., Diener D., Mitchell A., Pazour G., Witman G., Rosenbaum J., 2007, Function and dynamics of PKD2 in Chlamydomonas flagella. Journal of Cell Biology, 179:501-514.

4.      Huang K., Kunkel T., Beck. C. F., 2004. Localization of blue-light receptor phototropin to the flagella of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Mol. Biol. Cell. 15(8):3605-3614.

5.      Huang K., Beck C.F., 2003. Phototropin is the blue-light receptor that controls multiple steps in the sexual life cycle of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 100:6269-6274.

6.      Huang K., Merkle T., Beck C.F., 2002. Isolation and characterization of a Chlamydomonas gene that encodes a putative blue-light photoreceptor of the phototropin family. Physiol. Plant. 115:613-622.

 

 

Grants & Research Projects：