KeithChiChengMDPh.D.(He/Him)

Summary

• I am a board-certified anatomic pathologist, molecular biologist and geneticist with experience in phage, bacterial, mouse, zebrafish, and human genetics. My PhD work with bacteriophage at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center focused on Chi hotspots of recombination. Biochemical and genetic studies of mutation in phage led to an understanding of the template vs substrate mechanisms of alternative mutations caused by the most common mutagenic form of oxidative damage, 8-hydroxyguanine (aka 8-oxoguanine). Increasingly collaborative work by my lab at Penn State has included 1) genetic screens for genes involved in somatic mutation, cellular atypia, and pleiotropy, 2) development of web-based atlas resources, 3) identification of a key gene involved in the evolution of light skin in Europeans, 4) demystification of skin color and race, and 5) development and application of a 3D from of histology based on microCT, called x-ray histotomography, being targeted for large-scale imaging capabilities for users globally, the development of a computational phenomics that will allow comprehensive whole-organism tissue phenotyping of mm to cm scale samples for genetic, disease, and environmental (including chemical) phenomics. The "Geometry of Life" component of our work is utilizing supervised machine learning to create mathematically-characterized models of living things, to ultimately include all cell types and tissues in all organisms, as a foundation for web-based, multi-scale, multi-omic integration towards greater understanding of life. 6) Since no one discipline or small number of disciplines will solve global problems themselves, we are now working with global partners to plan web- and community-based resources dedicated to systems thinking-based understanding of and solutions to global problems, centered on the idea that we can all contribute to the greater good, if we work together internationally, constructively, with a shared, unshakable focus on the high road.