Education:
1992 – 1997 |
Combined honor program of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biochemistry Institute: Iowa State University, Ames, USA. |
1997 – 2003 |
Doctorate of Philosophy in Molecular, Cellular Biology and Genetics program, Institute: Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University &Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA. |
Professional Positions:
2003 – 2004 |
Postdoctoral fellow, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center |
2004 – 2007 |
Postdoctoral fellow, School of Medicine, UCSF |
2007 – 2010 |
Research Associate, School of Medicine, Stanford University |
2010 – 2016 2016 – 2022 2021 – 2023 |
Associate Professor/PhD student mentor, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University Tenured Associate Professor Deputy Director of Department of Basic Medical Sciences |
2022 – present 2024 – present |
Tenured Professor Assistant Chancellor (International) |
Research Areas:
Germ cells transmit totipotency and generate genetic diversity from one generation to the next. When sperm and egg fuse, a new life begins to develop by their genetic blueprints while incorporating epigenetic instructions. Kehkooi and his research team are fascinated by these processes and focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes, especially RNA binding proteins involved in regulating germ cell development, initiation of meiosis, and molecular and genetic factors causing infertility. Studies of human germ cell development, especially early germ cells, had been hindered by sample procurement and variation among different individuals. Human embryonic stem cells provide them unprecedented opportunity to develop in vitro differentiation systems to study these mechanisms. They have successfully built many novel in vitro differentiation and induction systems for human germ cells and their neighboring somatic cells, including spermatids, oocytes, and Sertoli cells. These in vitro systems also allow them to study the effect of microgravity on development of human germ cells in spacecraft. Moreover, the research team have induced human stem cells to Sertoli cells which create an immune-privileged microenvironment and applied the technology to eradicate immune rejection during tissue transplantation.
Honors and Awards:
Bayer Investigator Award (2010, 2011, 2017)
Tsinghua University ‘Outstanding Teaching Award’ (2014)
Janssen Investigator Award (2014)
Selected Publications:
1) Li M, Jiang Z, Xu X, Wu X, Liu Y, Chen K, Liao Y, Li W, Wang X, Guo Y, Zhang B, Wen L*, Kee K*, Tang F*. Chromatin accessibility landscape of mouse early embryos revealed by single-cell NanoATAC-seq2. Science. 2025 Mar 28;387(6741):eadp4319. doi:10.1126/science.adp4319.
2) He J, Yan A, Chen B, Huang J, Kee K*. 3D genome remodeling and homologous pairing during meiotic prophase of mouse oogenesis and spermatogenesis. Dev Cell. 2023 Nov 13: S1534-5807(23)00553-1. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.10.009.
3) Yan A, Xiong J, Zhu J, Li X, Xu S, Feng X, Ke X, Wang Z, Chen Y, Wang HW, Zhang MQ*, Kee K*. DAZL regulates proliferation of human primordial germ cells by direct binding to precursor miRNAs and enhances DICER processing activity. Nucleic Acids Res. 2022 Oct 24:gkac856. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkac856.
4) Hu W, Zeng H, Shi Y, Zhou C, Huang J, Jia L, Xu S, Feng X, Zeng Y, Xiong T, Huang W, Sun P, Chang Y, Li T, Fang C, Wu K, Cai L, Ni W, Li Y, Yang Z, Zhang QC, Chian R, Chen Z, Liang X*, Kee K*. Single-cell transcriptome and translatome dual-omics reveals potential mechanisms of human oocyte maturation. Nat Commun. 2022 Aug 30;13(1):5114. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-32791-2.
5) Li L, Yang R, Yin C, Kee K*. Studying human reproductive biology through single-cell analysis and in vitro differentiation of stem cells into germ cell-like cells. Hum Reprod Update. 2020 Sep 1;26(5):670-688. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmaa021.
6) Liang J, Wang N, He J, Du J, Guo Y, Li L, Wu W, Yao C, Li Z, Kee K*. Induction of Sertoli-like cells from human fibroblasts by NR5A1 and GATA4. Elife. 2019 Nov 11;8. pii: e48767. doi: 10.7554/eLife.48767.
7) Jung D, Xiong J, Ye M, Qin X, Li L, Cheng S, Luo M, Peng J, Dong J, Tang F, Shen W, Matzuk MM, Kee K*. In vitro differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into ovarian follicle-like cells. Nat Commun.2017 Jun 12;8:15680. doi:10.1038/ncomms15680.
8) Li L, Wang B, Zhang W, Chen B, Luo M, Wang J, Wang X, Cao Y*, Kee K*. (2017). A homozygous NOBOX truncating variant causes defective transcriptional activation and leads to primary ovarian insufficiency. Hum Reprod 32(1): 248-255. doi:10.1093/humrep/dew271.
9) Kee K, Angeles VT, Flores M, Nguyen HN, Reijo Pera RA*. (2009). Human DAZL, DAZ and BOULE genes modulate primordial germ-cell and haploid gamete formation. Nature 462(7270): 222-225. doi: 10.1038/nature08562.
10) Kee K, Protacio RU, Arora C, Keeney S*. (2004). Spatial organization and dynamics of the association of Rec102 and Rec104 with meiotic chromosomes. EMBO J 23(8): 1815-1824. doi: 10.1038/sj.emboj.7600184.
