Xiaoli Sun, MD, PhD

We are interested in understanding the pathogenesis of chronic diseases, including metabolic diseases and liver cancer. We combine basic science with clinical knowledge to understand disease pathophysiology and identify novel therapeutic targets for more effective disease therapies. We analyze human samples and employ genetically engineered mouse models to identify key players in diseases and understand disease initiation and progression. The combination of these systems with technologies including biochemistry, molecular biology, next-generation sequencing, single-cell technology, spatial transcriptomics, flow cytometry, proteomics, and lipidomics is providing striking new insights into mechanisms at the molecular and cellular levels that are relevant to chronic diseases, including diabetes, atherosclerosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases, and liver cancer.