The main focuses of this key lab are to apply the theory and methods of molecular biology and modern embryology to the studies of regulation of gene expression at different developmental stages in human and mammals, to carry out the basic and applied researches on transgenic animals and stem cells, as well as to provide a scientific and technical support to the prevention and treatment of genetic diseases. Recently, the Key Lab established "human/goat xenograft chimerism" in which human cells exhibit long-term survival in goats, and in collaboration with the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and firstly demonstrated that the iPS cells can produce viable mice. The work was published in PNAS and Nature, and the achievements were assessed among the Top Ten News Items of Basic Science Research in China in 2006 and 2009 and awarded the First Place of Natural Science Prize of Ministry of Education,

To explore the reprogram mechanism of the early development of the embryos and cloned embryos; To demonstrate the regulatory mechanism and network for the differentiations of stem cells; To provide scientific foundations for generating transgenic animals; To develop and launch new methodologies of molecular diagnosis and gene therapy for genetic disorders based on the ideas of translational medicine.