Jia-Ray Yu, PhD

National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan), BS, Biological Science and Technology, 2007

Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, PhD, Genetics, 2015

HHMI/NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Postdoctoral Training, Epigenetics, 2021

Dr. Yu received his PhD from a joint graduate program in Genetics at Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 2015. He conducted his thesis work on TGF-β and small GTPase signaling in lung cancer metastasis at CSHL under Dr. Linda Van Aelst. He then pursued his postdoctoral training in chromatin biology with Dr. Danny Reinberg at Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He started his independent research group in 2021 and his lab is interested in mechanisms-based inquiries in cancer and developmental epigenetics and leveraging basic science for translational applications.

Details regarding the most up-to-date research directions please visit the lab website: https://sites.google.com/view/yu-lab-at-umsom/home

Chromatin, Protein Biochemistry, Epigenetics, Gene Regulation, Pediatric Cancers, Stem Cell Differentiation, Neurodevelopment, Skeletal Development, In Vitro Reconstitution, CRISPR/Cas9 genetic screens.

Hsu CI, Dave A, Tu CH, Park S, Yu B, Jee YH, Yu JR. Identification of Modified Histones as Binding Substrates of Human Spindlin Family Member 4 (SPIN4) by Peptide Arrays and Native Nucleosome Pulldown. J Vis Exp. 2026 Mar 27;(229). 

Hsu CI, Mei S, Demmerle J, Prakash A, Ruttenberg S, Sahn M, Yu JR. Paraspeckle protein NONO regulates active chromatin by allosterically stimulating NSD1. Cell Rep. 2025 Sep 23;44(9):116247. 

Hsu CI, Yeh E, Chen CCL, Sahn M, Yu JR. Protocol for reconstituting enzymatic activities for ultra-large histone methyltransferases NSD1 and SETD2 using a baculovirus expression system. STAR Protoc. 2025 Sep 19;6(3):103963. 

Yu JR, LeRoy G, Bready D, Frenster JD, Saldaña-Meyer R, Jin Y, Descostes N, Stafford JM, Placantonakis DG, Reinberg D. The H3K36me2 writer-reader dependency in H3K27M-DIPG. Sci Adv. 2021 Jul 14;7(29):eabg7444. 

Lee CH*, Yu JR*, Kumar S, Jin Y, LeRoy G, Bhanu N, Kaneko S, Garcia BA, Hamilton AD, Reinberg D. Allosteric Activation Dictates PRC2 Activity Independent of Its Recruitment to Chromatin. Mol Cell. 2018 May 3;70(3):422-434.e6. *equal contribution.

Tu CH, Hsu CI, Yu JR. Chromatin Meets Condensates: Emerging Interplays Linking Nuclear Paraspeckles to Gene Activation. Epigenet Rep. 2026;4(1):2617266. doi: 10.1080/28361512.2026.2617266. (Review Article)

Escobar TM, Yu JR, Liu S, Lucero K, Vasilyev N, Nudler E, Reinberg D. Inheritance of repressed chromatin domains during S phase requires the histone chaperone NPM1. Sci Adv. 2022 Apr 29;8(17):eabm3945. 

LeRoy G, Oksuz O, Descostes N, Aoi Y, Ganai RA, Kara HO, Yu JR, Lee CH, Stafford J, Shilatifard A, Reinberg D. LEDGF and HDGF2 relieve the nucleosome-induced barrier to transcription in differentiated cells. Sci Adv. 2019 Oct 2;5(10):eaay3068. 

Lee CH*, Yu JR*, Granat J*, Saldaña-Meyer R, Andrade J, LeRoy G, Jin Y, Lund P, Stafford JM, Garcia BA, Ueberheide B, Reinberg D. Automethylation of PRC2 promotes H3K27 methylation and is impaired in H3K27M pediatric glioma. Genes Dev. 2019 Oct 1;33(19-20):1428-1440.  *equal contribution.

Yu JR*, Lee CH*, Oksuz O*, Stafford JM, Reinberg D. PRC2 is high maintenance. Genes Dev. 2019 Aug 1;33(15-16):903-935.  *equal contribution. (Review Article)

Tai Y, Gallo NB, Wang M, Yu JR, Van Aelst L. Axo-axonic Innervation of Neocortical Pyramidal Neurons by GABAergic Chandelier Cells Requires AnkyrinG-Associated L1CAM. Neuron. 2019 Apr 17;102(2):358-372.e9. 

Stafford JM, Lee CH, Voigt P, Descostes N, Saldaña-Meyer R, Yu JR, Leroy G, Oksuz O, Chapman JR, Suarez F, Modrek AS, Bayin NS, Placantonakis DG, Karajannis MA, Snuderl M, Ueberheide B, Reinberg D. Multiple modes of PRC2 inhibition elicit global chromatin alterations in H3K27M pediatric glioma. Sci Adv. 2018 Oct 31;4(10):eaau5935. 

Lee CH, Holder M, Grau D, Saldaña-Meyer R, Yu JR, Ganai RA, Zhang J, Wang M, LeRoy G, Dobenecker MW, Reinberg D, Armache KJ. Distinct Stimulatory Mechanisms Regulate the Catalytic Activity of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2. Mol Cell. 2018 May 3;70(3):435-448.e5. 

Nakamuta S, Yang YT, Wang CL, Gallo NB, Yu JR, Tai Y, Van Aelst L. Dual role for DOCK7 in tangential migration of interneuron precursors in the postnatal forebrain. J Cell Biol. 2017 Dec 4;216(12):4313-4330.

Yu JR, Tai Y, Jin Y, Hammell MC, Wilkinson JE, Roe JS, Vakoc CR, Van Aelst L. TGF-β/Smad signaling through DOCK4 facilitates lung adenocarcinoma metastasis. Genes Dev. 2015 Feb 1;29(3):250-61. 

2022          Emerging Scientist Award, Children's Cancer Research Fund

2022          Integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV) Career Development Award

2017-2021 Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, American Cancer Society (DMC-PF-17-035-01)