Despite active cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, mammalian organs maintain their size and function, indicative of a delicately balanced program that regulates cell population dynamics. Dysregulation of this homeostasis results in imbalances that can give rise to aging, and aging-related diseases(e.g., neurodegenerative disorders and cancer). The central vision of the Cao Lab is to investigate how does a cell population maintain homeostasis and how it is disrupted in aging and diseases. Our primary approach is to develop state-of-the-art genomic techniques to profile and perturb cell dynamics at single-cell resolution and dissecting its connection with internal transcriptome state and external cell-cell interactions. Our long-term goal is to leverage this knowledge to develop cell-type-specific engineering tools to enhance cell population robustness or restore cell population homeostasis.