The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine would like to welcome Xianwen Yi, PhD to our team! Dr. Yi joined in July as an Assistant Professor of Research.<\/p>\n
Dr. Yi earned his B.S. from a prestigious university in Beijing and completed his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Rush University. Following his graduation, he worked in the lab of Dr. Lowell Heger at the University of Illinois. Dr. Heger is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and under his guidance, Dr. Yi studied enzyme engineering to enhance the activity of the enzyme by altering their amino acid sequences.<\/p>\n
Later, Dr. Yi joined Dr. Nobuyo Meada\u2019s lab to research atherosclerosis using genetic animal models. With the great help of Drs. Oliver Smithies and Nobuyo Maeda, Dr. Yi successfully developed two different mouse models\u2014knockout and altered gene expression models. These antioxidant or metabolic mouse models were mated with disease models such as atherosclerosis and diabetes to investigate the roles of antioxidants or metabolic disorders in initiating and developing these diseases.<\/p>\n
Around ten years ago, Dr. Yi expanded his knowledge by joining Dr. Joseph DeSimone\u2019s lab at UNC. Dr. DeSimone is conducting research on engineering new vaccine platforms, which includes work on the atherosclerosis vaccine, enhanced drug delivery approaches using nanomedicine, and 3D printing. Dr. DeSimone is one of only 25 individuals elected to all three branches of the U.S. National Academies (Sciences, Medicine, Engineering).<\/p>\n
A few years ago, Dr. Yi joined the Department of Surgery to explore pancreatic beta cell replacement therapy using stem cells and progenitor cells to treat type 1 diabetes. Additionally, he has been involved in atherosclerosis, diabetes, and obesity studies.<\/p>\n
Amazingly, Dr. Yi has returned to Dr. Maeda\u2019s lab in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Yi felt like he had come home. He heartily expresses gratitude to the pathology and laboratory medicine department and Dr. Maeda for providing an opportunity for further research. In addition, Dr. Yi was pleased to meet old friends and know many new friends.\u00a0 They offered a massive amount of help during the transition period. So far, Dr. Yi has received 12 grants, including intramural and extramural ones. Dr. Yi believes that he will be able to make significant contributions to the department.<\/p>\n