SINGLE-MOLECULE IMAGING GROUP

UH stadium

RESEARCH

TEAM

PUBLICATIONS

Welcome to the Chen Lab!

The Chen Lab provides a dynamic and innovative environment to explore the cutting-edge intersection of neuroscience and molecular biology. We focus on metal homeostasis in healthy and diseased neurons using advanced single-molecule techniques. Join us to uncover how metals influence neuronal signaling and contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. As part of our team, you will gain hands-on experience in state-of-the-art single-molecule microscopy, molecular biology, and data analytics. Beyond research, you’ll benefit from a collaborative mentorship approach, tailored to help you excel in your academic and professional goals. For passionate individuals ready to shape the future of neuroscience, contact Dr. Tai-Yen Chen (tchen37@central.uh.edu) to start your journey!


LAB MEMBER'S MILSTONES


December 2024

Holiday Fun: Christmas Gathering 2024!

Festivities included an ugly sweater competition, games, and potluck dishes!

December 2024

Kameron’s PChem Victory!

Kameron Brooks passed her Pchem seminar. Congratulation!.

November 2024

Trang's PURS Success!

Trang Tran received the Provost’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship for Spring 2025.

November 2024

Wenkai Shines in PChem!

Wenkai successfully passed her Pchem seminar.

October 2024

Welcome to the Graduate Program!

Shudan Yan officially joined the lab as a graduate student. Welcome!

June 2024

Welcome, New Faces!

Adam Czader and Trang Tran joined the lab as undergraduate students.

May 2024

Cynthia’s PURS Triumph!

Cynthia Tran received the Provost’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship for Fall 2024.

April 2024

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Awards!

Luiz and Cynthia were awarded the 2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) for their research contributions.

January 2024

Start the Year with a Feast!

Group lunch was held at Ramble Creek Grill Riverstone on January 27.

    December 2023

  • Christmas Gathering Announced! Melissa hosted the Christmas gathering on December 8, inviting all members and their families.
  • Journal of Chemical Education Paper Accepted! Guangjie Yan, Yuteng Zhang, Alexis Allamprese, Kameron Brooks, Wenkai Chen, and Shudan Yan published their educational paper in the Journal of Chemical Education.
  • Analytical Chemistry Paper Accepted!Theoretical research led by Huanhuan was accepted in Analytical Chemistry.

    • August 2023

  • Professional Spotlight: Lab Video Premiere! The lab's professional video was released in August 2023.

    • June 2023

  • Welcome, Undergrad Stars! New undergraduate members Yahya Arain, Luiz Fernandez, and Cynthia Tran joined the lab in June 2023.

    • May 2023

  • Huanhuan Takes Home the Prize! Huanhuan won a prestigious research award in May 2023.
  • Double Delight: Dr. Chen and Dr. Zhang! Both Huanhuan and Yuteng defended their dissertations in May 2023.

    • March 2023

  • Tasty BBQ Meet-Up! The group enjoyed a meal at Gen Korean BBQ House in May 2023.

    • December 2022

  • Christmas Gathering 2022! Ugly sweater competition and games brought holiday cheer on December 10.

    • October 2022

  • Congratulations, Dr. Pan! Manhua successfully defended her Ph.D. Congratulation!

    • June 2022

  • Espresso Delight at R137A! A nice espresso machine was added to the lab for coffee lovers.

    • April 2022

  • Cheers to Dr. Xie! Xihong successfully defended her dissertation!
  • Manhua’s Big Milestone! Manhua passed her public talk, advancing towards her Ph.D.

    • March 2022

  • Yuteng’s Bundle of Joy! Yuteng welcomed her first baby. Congratulation!

    December 2021

  • End-of-Year Group Lunch! Group lunch at Doneraki, Houston, celebrated the end of 2021.

    • November 2021

  • ACS southwest regional meeting. Tai-Yen present Lab Research at the ACS southwest regional meeting!
  • Welcome to the Lab, Debbie! Debbie O'Hair joined as a graduate student from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

    • October 2021

  • Dr. Yan (First Ph.D. from Chen Lab!), Congrats!Guangjie passed his defense! All committees are impressed Guangjie's work. Great Job and congrats again!
  • Paper Accepted! Monica, Xihong, Pei-San, and Karen’s paper just got accepted by Open Biology. Congrats!
  • First GRC full talk! Tai-Yen gave his first full talk at the Cell Biology of Metal Gordon Research Conference to present our recent finding of CTR1 oligomer study!

    • August 2021

  • Pei-San was selected for the McElrath Postdoctoral Fellowship the year! Congrats! The McElrath Postdoctoral Fellowship recognizes postdoctoral associates with a strong documented record of accomplishments (e.g., publications in high-quality peer-reviewed journals and contributed talks at meetings)!

    • July 2021

  • Tai-Yen present Lab Research at the Welch Summer Scholar Program (WSSP)!Watch the seminar here!

    • June 2021

  • Paper Accepted!Pei-San, Monica, and Xihong's work has been accepted to Stem Cell Research. They generated of a homozygous knock-in human embryonic stem cell line expressing SNAP-tagged SOD1, which allows us to study human neuronal antioxdative defense under physiological conditions. Congratulation!
  • Tai-Yen is selected for the UH teaching Award!! Tai-Yen is selected for the John Butler Teaching award this year for the tenure-track faculty. The John C. Butler Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes faculty in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in teaching and a track record of dedication to the teaching mission of NSM. Read more in the UH news

    • May 2021

  • New Members Joined the Lab! We welcome Alexis Allamprese joining us as a undergraduate student. Alexis is currently a UH undergraduate with chemistry major.

    • April 2021

  • Guagnjie passed his public talk! Congratulate Guangjie passing his public talk. One more step closer to the Ph.D. degree!

    • March 2021

  • Yuteng presented her research during the GRW! Yuteng presented her work on Cu-dependent intracellular redox behaviors using single-molecule super-resolution microscopy in the Graduate Recurting Weekend (GRW).

    • Feburary 2021

  • New Group Webpage is up! Brand new CHEN RESEARCH LAB just arrived!

    • January 2021

  • New Members Joined the Lab! We welcome Yi-Hung joining us as a research assistant and Patrick as a undergraduate student. Yi-Hung obtained her BS in Pharmacy from Taipei Medical University in 2014 and M.S. in Pharmacology from National Yang-Ming University in 2019. Patrick is currently a UH undergraduate with biochemistry major.

    • December 2020

  • Two New Ph.D. Candidates This Month! Huanhuan and Yuteng both successfully passed their ORP exams and officially Ph. D. condidates now. Congratulation!
  • X'mas celebration 2020! First virtual X'mas party and lucky raffle!

    • October 2020

  • Paper Accepted! Huanhuan and Xihong's review has been accepted to Current Opinion in Structureal Biology. Huanhuan and Xihong summarized the single-molecule approaches to quantify protein oligomeric stoichiometry in cell in the past 5 years. Congratulation!

    • September 2020

  • Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Enjoy the Moon cake at R64!

    • August 2020

  • Paper Accepted! Manhua, Yuteng, and Guangjie's work has been accepted to Analytical Chemistry. They developed a simulation approach to extract kinetic interaction parameters from single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer trajectories without the need for solving complex differential equations. Congratulation!

    • July 2020

  • Facemask Arrived. UH is preparing for the COVID-19 and will need the list of research staff and graduate student. Please update your information asap in the attached file.Chen Research Group, I bought 10 box of facemasks and just put them in the wetlab. Hope this PPE help everyone protect yourself in this difficult time.

    • March 2020

  • Research Labs and COVID-19 Preparedness. UH is preparing for the COVID-19 and will need the list of research staff and graduate student. Please update your information asap in the attached file.UH will close at 11:59pm tonight (3/24) !!

    • Feburary 2020

  • PChem seminar passed! Huanhuan and Yuteng passed their PChem seminar! First step toward Ph.D. candidate. Congratulation!

    December 2019

  • X'mas gathering on 12/1 (Sun) 12 pm !!

    • October 2019

  • Monica's paper is officially accpted! Congrats!

    • September 2019

  • Team site of Chen Research Group is up!

    • November 2018

  • Congratulations to Xihong and Yu-Shan on the acceptance of research article by J. Phys. Chem. B !!! Our first research paper is finally published !!! Great work !!!
  • Warm welcome to our new graduate students, Huanhuan Chen and Yuteng Zheng, in joining the group!
  • Watche your nerve !!! Our group host students from Hightower High School to see the hiPSC-derived neurons under microscope !

    • July 2018

  • Warm welcome to our new Welch summer student Thomas Su in joining the group!

    • May 2018

  • Tai-Yen won the High Priority Area Research Small Equipment Award!

    • April 2018

  • Yu-Shan's review article are featured on the cover of Acc. Chem. Res.!
  • Tai-Yen won the Welch Research Grants Award!

    • Feburary 2018

  • Warm welcome to our new undergraduate student Sunkyung Jung in joining the group!
  • Tai-Yen won the High Priority Area Research Seed Grants Award!

    • January 2018

  • Tai-Yen will teache undergraduate physical chemistry (CHEM 4370) in spring 2018.
  • Congratulations to Yu-Shan on the acceptance of her review article by Acc. Chem. Res. This article reviews an emerging new paradigm of protein-DNA interactions, in which proteins show concentration-enhanced unbinding from DNA via ternary complexes that are enabled by multivalent protein-DNA contacts.

    September 2016

  • Tai-Yen starts his independent career at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Houston

LAB HIGHLIGHTS


April 2021 - The Lab received UH High Priority Area Research Equipment Grant-Large for developing Time-resolved Super-Resolution Microscope!

This setup allows the non-invasive and precise assessment of the spatial distributions of proteins and concurrently probe their oligomeric states, which helps to elucidate how disease processes unfold and how potential therapies might intervene in human neurons.


November 2019 - Tai-Yen serves as a training faculty of Houston Area Molecular Biophysics Training Program (HAMBP)

HAMBP predoctoral fellowship provides a unique, inter-institutional biophysical training experience with leading institutions. Read more

Septemer 2019 - The Lab brought the first NIH MIRA Award to UH!

Read more

May 2018 - The Lab got our first small instrument grant from UH!

April 2018 - First external research grant! Thank Welch Foundation's generous support!

Febrary 2018 - The Lab got our firt research seed grant from UH!