Advancing science, health & the next generation.
What we do.
The Wong laboratory investigates mechanisms responsible for the gross structural maintenance of the genome. The lab is interested in the role of telomeres and telomerase in preventing chromosome erosion, and the cellular pathways that regulate telomere maintenance in health and diseases. A second research program studies alternate nucleic acid structures, in particular the G-quadruplexes, and their roles in genome regulation and integrity. Most cancers and premature aging syndromes share an observable loss of genome integrity. Our long-term goal is to discover genetic and pharmacological means to control cellular changes that affect stable genome maintenance.
Our Projects & Publications
Faithful maintenance of the genome is essential to the survival and well-being of an organism. In humans, the loss of genome integrity is implicated in pathologies ranging from carcinogenesis to the degenerative conditions seen in aging. We focus on investigating the structural maintenance of the human genome and the mechanisms of enzymes involved in these maintenance activities. As an academic research laboratory, we mandated to provide an outstanding training program to graduate students within the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and beyond, to broaden their fundamental knowledge of disease biology, drug target discovery and development.
Dr. Judy Wong is a professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC, Judy obtained a PhD in pharmacology from the University of Toronto and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California in Berkeley. Dr. Wong is also chair of the Faculty's Molecular and Systems Pharmacology Group (2020 to present).
