WE GOT US
Peng Zhao, Ph.D.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
CPRIT Scholar
NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award Fellow
Email: zhaop@uthscsa.edu
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Biology
Assitsant Professor of Mays Cancer Center
Long School of Medicine
Postdoc: University of California San Diego
Ph.D.: Louisiana State University & Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Xiaoli Sun, M.D., Ph.D.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
CPRIT Scholar
NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award Fellow
Email: sunx1@uthscsa.edu
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
Assistant Professor of Mays Cancer Center
Assistant Professor of Transplant Center
Postdoc: University of California San Diego
M.D., Ph.D.: Peking University
Liming Yu, Ph.D.
INSTRUCTOR
AHA Career Development Award Fellow
Postdoc: UT Southwestern Medical Center
Ph.D.: Nanjing Medical University
Research Interest: Metabolic diseases and Immunology
Abhishek Gupta, Ph.D.
INSTRUCTOR
Postdoc: UT Health San Antonio
Ohio University
Ph.D.: Central Drug Research Institute
Research Interest: Diabetes and liver diseases
Jianfei Ji, Ph.D.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Ph.D.: Zhejiang University
Jianfei completed his Ph.D. training in Biochemistry and Immunology at Zhejiang University. During his Ph.D. training, Jianfei's work centered on elucidating the role of innate and adaptive immunity in bacterial infection. He is currently investigating the role of inflammation in atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases.
Jian Yuan, Ph.D.
SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Postdoc: Iowa State University, Xiamen University
Ph.D.: Ocean University of China
Jian received his Ph.D. from Ocean University of China. He has extensive experience in molecular biology and animal study. His work focused on developing molecular detection methods and mouse phenotype characterization. Jian is dedicated to biomedical research and he is currently focused on the roles of lipid metabolism in cardiovascular diseases.
![IMG_7638[81344]_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/072f4e_34f6a037b3254a3c8087ac0a6d0644a0~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_452,y_234,w_2020,h_2209/fill/w_268,h_293,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/IMG_7638%5B81344%5D_edited.jpg)
Danwan Wen, M.D.
PH.D. CANDIDATE
M.D.: Sun Yat-sen University
Danwan earned her M.D. through the rigorous 8-year program at Sun Yat-sen University. She completed her medical training and residency at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University. With expertise as a radiation oncologist, she specialized in performing radiation treatment for treating a broad range of common and rare solid tumors. Beyond clinical practice, Danwan actively engages in basic research to understand the underlying mechanisms of cancer progression. Driven by her long-term career goal as a physician-scientist, Danwan joined us as a visiting scientist (2022-2024). Her dedication and accomplishments have earned her acceptance as an IBMS Ph.D. student in 2024, where she continues her work delineating the roles of signaling transduction in metabolic disorders and associated tumorigenesis in our lab.
Hong Yu, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Ph.D.: Beijing University of Chinese Medicine
Hong received her bachelor's degree in medicine, then went on for a joint multidisciplinary Ph.D. training in cancer biology at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and Chinese Academy of Sciences. She specializes in CRIRPR-cas9-mediated knockout and knockin techniques, oxidative stress, signaling transduction, and protein biochemistry. She applied a combination of drug screening, and in vitro and in vivo approaches to target the p53 pathway for cancer therapy. Currently, Hong is studying the role of disrupted energy homeostasis and oxidative stress in NASH and liver cancer.
Wenjing You, Ph.D.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Ph.D.: Zhejiang University
Wenjing completed her Ph.D. training in Animal Nutrition and Feed Science from Zhejiang University, where she received interdisciplinary training in metabolic disease pathophysiology, glucose and lipid metabolism regulation and molecular biology. Wenjing is passionate about developing new biochemical assays and pursuing the role of glucose and lipid metabolism in metabolic diseases and associated cancer using multi-omics approach.
Wantao Wang, Ph.D.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Ph.D.: Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Wantao received his Ph.D. from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. His passion for biomedical research led him to pursue integrated training in biochemistry and cancer. He used a combination of protein biochemistry, RNA biology, and in vivo animal models to study breast cancer. Wantao is now applying his expertise in protein biochemistry and molecular biology to study lipid metabolism and inflammation in atherosclerosis and metabolic diseases.
Linmeng Han, Ph.D.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Ph.D.: Tianjin Medical University
Linmeng completed her Ph.D. training in cancer biology at Tianjin Medical University. Her thesis work demonstrated a novel role of mitochondrial fission in epithelial to mesenchymal transition in liver diseases. She applies super-resolution imaging, CRISPR-Cas9 knockout, protein biochemistry, and surgically manipulated animal models to identify novel molecular and cellular events in metabolic diseases. Linmeng is now combining in vitro and in vivo methodologies to assess the effectiveness of antibody-based therapy in cardiovascular diseases.
Nicole Nguyen, B.S.
M.D., PH.D. CANDIDATE
IRTA Fellow
B.S: Boston University
Nicole earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Physiology with a minor in Medical Anthropology from Boston University. Her enduring passion for research is evident throughout her undergraduate studies, where she continuously trained in biomedical research. Her outstanding performance and enthusiasm for research earned her the prestigious Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) at the NIDDK/NIH, providing her the opportunity to conduct research as a fellow. There she focused on long-range gene regulation and chromatin looping in developmental processes. Nicole's hard work has led to several publications. She is currently using animal models and multi-omics approaches to study tissue injury and remodeling in the liver.
Qing Liu, Ph.D.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Ph.D.: Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Qing earned her Ph.D. in adipocyte biology and metabolic diseases from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her thesis research demonstrated the crosstalk between cholesterol esterification and obesity and related metabolic disorders. Currently, Qing is advancing her research by integrating in vitro and in vivo methods to comprehensively investigate the roles of glucose and lipid metabolism in metabolic diseases and related cancers.
Yu Ge, M.S.
BIOINFORMATICIAN
M.S. in Computer Science,
M.S. in Applied Statistics,
M.S. in Biological Science:
Louisiana State University
Yu holds three master's degrees and has received comprehensive training, spanning Biological Science, Applied Statistics, and Computer Science at LSU. He is proficient in a diverse array of programming languages, such as C++, Java, Go, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, Shell Script, and more. With a wealth of experience in software development and engineering, along with his unique background in bioinformatics analysis, statistics, and biological science, Yu is currently focusing on genomic, epigenomic, and single-cell data analysis. His expertise extends to our lab server management. In addition to his technical contribution, Yu is committed to providing consulting and training support to our team. He collaborates closely with fellow team members and helps customize their data analysis, and experiment design to meet the specific research goals.
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