Cardiology & Heart Diseases

Biography

I completed my PhD in molecular biology and reproductive immunology at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing in July 2002. As part of my Ph.D. training, I identified rhesus monkey beta-subunit chorionic gonadotropin (rmCGβ). Subsequently, I developed a DNA vaccine for immune-contraceptive therapy based on rmCGβ, as well as explored the potential treatments for endocrine tumors using this DNA immune-vaccine. I pursued my postdoctoral training at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School from August, 2002 to May, 2009. During my postdoctoral training period at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, I focused on understanding transcriptional regulation of angiogenesis in endothelial cells, focusing on the cell growth arrest gene, Gax, which encodes an anti-angiogenic protein (Blood, 2008; 111(3): 1217-1226; Mol Cell Biol, 2010; 30(15

Research Interest

My research interest is to understand the mechanism of autophagy, mitochondrial, and cell death in the heart, and to develop the treatment to reduce heart damage after heart attack.