Biodata Mining and Discovery Section

Hong-Wei Sun, Ph.D.

Overview

The overall mission of the Biodata Mining and Discovery Section is to assist and to participate in biomedical research with Data Science and Bioinformatics approaches in support of the ultimate research goals of the NIAMS IRP.

We are currently integrating NGS data processing and data analysis related computational methods into a wide range of biological and biomedical studies, focusing on WES, ChIP-Seq, ATAC-Seq, RNA-Seq, and Single Cell RNA-Seq based research projects.

We also develop new data analysis strategies and customized computational solutions, and conduct research to evaluate emerging methods and techniques in the rapidly evolving field of applied bioinformatics and computational biology.

Highlights

Since 2015, our team accomplished the following:

  • Provided bioinformatics support to over 160 researchers from 47 different labs
  • Processed and analyzed NGS data from more than 15,000 samples
  • Co-authored 58 research publications
  • Provided one-on-one data analysis training and mentoring to more than 70 researcher

Tools

The tools and utilities listed below have been developed by our team to support the ongoing research of the NIAMS.

PAPST (Peak Assignment and Profile Search Tool)
A Java desktop program for both gene centric and peak centric ChIP-Seq and ATAC-Seq data analysis. Learn more about the program.
DNA-Seq/Mutational data analysis pipeline.
A genetics data analysis pipeline, initially developed and used in a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
ChIP-Seq data analysis pipeline
A Snakemake pipeline for fundamental ChIP-Seq data analysis including trimming, mapping, peak calling, and bigWig file generation for data visualization.
ATAC-Seq data analysis pipeline
A customized Snakemake pipeline for ATAC-Seq data analysis, initially developed and implemented for analyzing data in a paper published in Cell.
RNA-Seq data analysis pipeline
A Snakemake pipeline for fundamental RNA-Seq data analysis including trimming, mapping, PCR effect assessment, and gene expression value calculation.
scRNA-Seq data analysis pipeline
A Cell Ranger based pipeline for 10x genomics single cell data processing and analysis, initially implemented for analyzing data in a paper published in Nature Immunology.
CITE-Seq data analysis pipeline
A Cell Ranger based pipeline implemented for customized CITE-Seq data processing and analysis.
HiC data analysis pipeline
A JUICER based pipeline that performs PE read alignment, data filtering, data binning, and data normalization.
Bi-Seq data analysis pipeline
A Bismark package based pipeline for DNA methylation data analysis.
Enrichr based pathway analysis R code
An R code that facilitates Enrichr based pathway analysis and visualization.

In the Lab with NIAMS

This group facilitates biomedical research to support scientists and their discoveries. The facility uses computational and bioinformatics approaches to assist with data analysis.

Core Research Facilities

Labs at the NIAMS are supported by the following state-of-the-art facilities and services:

Image & Media Gallery

Scientific Publications

Selected Recent Publications

Dysregulation of U12-Type Splicing in Lupus Neutrophils.

Blanco LP, Regmi B, Carmona-Rivera C, Liu Y, Wang X, Carlucci PM, Jackson MM, Manna Z, Hasni S, Hafner M, Sun HW, Kaplan MJ
Arthritis Rheumatol.
2026 Jul;
78(7).
doi: 10.1002/art.70053
PMID: 41524512

A neutrophil-mesangial cell axis promotes glomerular injury in lupus nephritis.

Hanata N, Carmona-Rivera C, Hoffmann V, Jiang K, Manna Z, Randazzo D, Waldman MA, Hasni SA, Kaplan MJ
Ann Rheum Dis.
2026 Jul;
85(7).
doi: 10.1016/j.ard.2025.11.011
PMID: 41354562

Selective requirement of glycosphingolipid synthesis for natural killer and cytotoxic T cells.

Morrison TA, Vigee J, Tovar KA, Talley TA, Mujal AM, Kono M, Philips R, Nagashima H, Brooks SR, Dada H, Rozich I, Hudspeth K, Lau CM, Yao C, Sciumè G, Sun HW, Bonifacino JS, Kanno Y, Dustin ML, Randazzo D, Proia RL, Sun JC, Shih HY, O'Shea JJ
Cell.
2025 Jun 26;
188(13).
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.04.007
PMID: 40306279

Mechanism for local attenuation of DNA replication at double-strand breaks.

Sebastian R, Sun EG, Fedkenheuer M, Fu H, Jung S, Thakur BL, Redon CE, Pegoraro G, Tran AD, Gross JM, Mosavarpour S, Kusi NA, Ray A, Dhall A, Pongor LS, Casellas R, Aladjem MI
Nature.
2025 Mar;
639(8056).
doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08557-9
PMID: 39972127

A CTCF-binding site in the Mdm1-Il22-Ifng locus shapes cytokine expression profiles and plays a critical role in early Th1 cell fate specification.

Liu C, Nagashima H, Fernando N, Bass V, Gopalakrishnan J, Signorella S, Montgomery W, Lim AI, Harrison O, Reich L, Yao C, Sun HW, Brooks SR, Jiang K, Nagarajan V, Zhao Y, Jung S, Phillips R, Mikami Y, Lareau CA, Kanno Y, Jankovic D, Aryee MJ, Pękowska A, Belkaid Y, O'Shea J, Shih HY
Immunity.
2024 May 14;
57(5).
doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2024.04.007
PMID: 38697116

A central role for STAT5 in the transcriptional programing of T helper cell metabolism.

Villarino AV, Laurence AD, Davis FP, Nivelo L, Brooks SR, Sun HW, Jiang K, Afzali B, Frasca D, Hennighausen L, Kanno Y, O'Shea JJ
Sci Immunol.
2022 Nov 25;
7(77).
doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abl9467
PMID: 36427325

MicroRNA-221 and -222 modulate intestinal inflammatory Th17 cell response as negative feedback regulators downstream of interleukin-23.

Mikami Y, Philips RL, Sciumè G, Petermann F, Meylan F, Nagashima H, Yao C, Davis FP, Brooks SR, Sun HW, Takahashi H, Poholek AC, Shih HY, Afzali B, Muljo SA, Hafner M, Kanno Y, O'Shea JJ
Immunity.
2021 Mar 9;
54(3).
doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.02.015
PMID: 33657395

BACH2 enforces the transcriptional and epigenetic programs of stem-like CD8(+) T cells.

Yao C, Lou G, Sun HW, Zhu Z, Sun Y, Chen Z, Chauss D, Moseman EA, Cheng J, D'Antonio MA, Shi W, Shi J, Kometani K, Kurosaki T, Wherry EJ, Afzali B, Gattinoni L, Zhu Y, McGavern DB, O'Shea JJ, Schwartzberg PL, Wu T
Nat Immunol.
2021 Mar;
22(3).
doi: 10.1038/s41590-021-00868-7
PMID: 33574619

FoxO maintains a genuine muscle stem-cell quiescent state until geriatric age.

García-Prat L, Perdiguero E, Alonso-Martín S, Dell'Orso S, Ravichandran S, Brooks SR, Juan AH, Campanario S, Jiang K, Hong X, Ortet L, Ruiz-Bonilla V, Flández M, Moiseeva V, Rebollo E, Jardí M, Sun HW, Musarò A, Sandri M, Del Sol A, Sartorelli V, Muñoz-Cánoves P
Nat Cell Biol.
2020 Nov;
22(11).
doi: 10.1038/s41556-020-00593-7
PMID: 33106654

Rapid Enhancer Remodeling and Transcription Factor Repurposing Enable High Magnitude Gene Induction upon Acute Activation of NK Cells.

Sciumè G, Mikami Y, Jankovic D, Nagashima H, Villarino AV, Morrison T, Yao C, Signorella S, Sun HW, Brooks SR, Fang D, Sartorelli V, Nakayamada S, Hirahara K, Zitti B, Davis FP, Kanno Y, O'Shea JJ, Shih HY
Immunity.
2020 Oct 13;
53(4).
doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2020.09.008
PMID: 33010223

Sex differences in neutrophil biology modulate response to type I interferons and immunometabolism.

Gupta S, Nakabo S, Blanco LP, O'Neil LJ, Wigerblad G, Goel RR, Mistry P, Jiang K, Carmona-Rivera C, Chan DW, Wang X, Pedersen HL, Gadkari M, Howe KN, Naz F, Dell'Orso S, Hasni SA, Dempsey C, Buscetta A, Frischmeyer-Guerrerio PA, Kruszka P, Muenke M, Franco LM, Sun HW, Kaplan MJ
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
2020 Jul 14;
117(28).
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2003603117
PMID: 32601182

Distinct interferon signatures and cytokine patterns define additional systemic autoinflammatory diseases.

de Jesus AA, Hou Y, Brooks S, Malle L, Biancotto A, Huang Y, Calvo KR, Marrero B, Moir S, Oler AJ, Deng Z, Montealegre Sanchez GA, Ahmed A, Allenspach E, Arabshahi B, Behrens E, Benseler S, Bezrodnik L, Bout-Tabaku S, Brescia AC, Brown D, Burnham JM, Caldirola MS, Carrasco R, Chan AY, Cimaz R, Dancey P, Dare J, DeGuzman M, Dimitriades V, Ferguson I, Ferguson P, Finn L, Gattorno M, Grom AA, Hanson EP, Hashkes PJ, Hedrich CM, Herzog R, Horneff G, Jerath R, Kessler E, Kim H, Kingsbury DJ, Laxer RM, Lee PY, Lee-Kirsch MA, Lewandowski L, Li S, Lilleby V, Mammadova V, Moorthy LN, Nasrullayeva G, O'Neil KM, Onel K, Ozen S, Pan N, Pillet P, Piotto DG, Punaro MG, Reiff A, Reinhardt A, Rider LG, Rivas-Chacon R, Ronis T, Rösen-Wolff A, Roth J, Ruth NM, Rygg M, Schmeling H, Schulert G, Scott C, Seminario G, Shulman A, Sivaraman V, Son MB, Stepanovskiy Y, Stringer E, Taber S, Terreri MT, Tifft C, Torgerson T, Tosi L, Van Royen-Kerkhof A, Wampler Muskardin T, Canna SW, Goldbach-Mansky R
J Clin Invest.
2020 Apr 1;
130(4).
doi: 10.1172/JCI129301
PMID: 31874111

News & Highlights

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Last Updated: August 2026