Prof. Tkatchenko graduated from the Russian National Research Medical University with a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree and Master of Science (MSc) degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He then obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Molecular Biology from the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. After completing his education, Prof. Tkatchenko worked as Research Scientist and Senior Research Scientist at the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology and as a Leading Research Scientist at the Institute of Gene Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He also worked as visiting scientist at the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) in France, and as a Dana-Mahoney Research Fellow at Harvard University in USA. Before coming to Oujiang Laboratory, Prof. Tkatchenko served as Professor of Ophthalmic Genetics and Director of Basic Science Course in Ophthalmology at Columbia University in New York, USA.

He has published more than 30 SCI papers in top research journals, was invited to participate in and speak at many international academic conferences. He is a member of the European Association for Vision and Eye Research, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, International Myopia Institute, as well as several other international scientific organizations. He has served as a reviewer on several international research grant review committees in Europe, Australia and Asia, and has served as a reviewer or editor for several international journals. He gave more than ten honorary lectures. Prof. Tkatchenko was the first to apply large-scale gene expression profiling to study myopia and was the first to demonstrate that the development of myopia is associated with large-scale changes in gene expression. He also discovered that the postnatal peripheral retina of primates harbors proliferating neuronal progenitors, which increase in numbers in the myopic eyes. The discovery of the first gene (APLP2) responsible for gene-environment interaction in refractive eye development and causing myopia in children was led by Prof. Tkatchenko .

Most recently, his laboratory has identified major retinal pathways regulating refractive eye development, and established that visually guided eye growth is regulated by optical defocus via well-defined retinal genetic networks. The information about these networks was used to develop a pharmacogenomics pipeline for anti-myopia drug development which already produced several promising drug candidates, resulted in three Columbia University press releases and six patents.

Research in the Tkatchenko lab revolves around gene-environment interaction in refractive eye development, characterization of signaling pathways underlying visually guided eye development, and development of antimyopia drugs using systems genetics and pharmacogenomics approaches.

Team Leader: Andrei V Tkatchenko

Team members: Tatiana V Tkatchenko, Catarina Chen, Qiaoling Kuang, Jiuze Li, Qichen Wang, Artem Berezhnoi, Abulkosim Nasriddinov

The team is currently working on several projects, including studies of gene regulatory networks underlying refractive eye development and myopia, microRNA regulation of refractive eye development and myopia, pharmacogenomics of myopia and other eye diseases, medicinal chemistry and drug development.

The team is currently recruiting outstanding talents in the fields of molecular biology, molecular genetics, computer science, bioinformatics, and medicinal chemistry, including senior research scientists (group leaders), postdoctoral research scientists and graduate students. Contact: chenchanchan@ojlab.ac.cn.

Currently available positions:

· Postdoctoral Research Scientists - molecular biology/genetics: Ideal candidates will have PhD in molecular biology or molecular genetics, at least 3 years of postdoctoral experience in one of the top universities and a strong publication record. These positions require expertise in molecular biology techniques such as DNA and RNA isolation, PCR, in situ hybridization, cloning, transgenic mouse technology, mouse genetics, and whole-genome approaches (such as RNA-seq, whole-genome sequencing, whole-genome bisulfite sequencing etc.).

· Senior Research Scientist/Group Leader - computer science and bioinformatics: Ideal candidates will have PhD in computer science and/or bioinformatics, at least 5 years of postdoctoral experience in one of the top universities or 5 years of postdoctoral industrial experience, a strong publication record, and documented ability to work both independently and lead a team of graduate students and research scientists. This position requires strong expertise in computer programming and bioinformatics. Expertise in machine learning and/or artificial intelligence will be a definite advantage.