Ching Ling Lien

Ching Ling Lien, PhD is Professor of Surgery, Cancer Biology, and Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. She serves as Director of the Heart Regeneration Research Laboratory within the Department of Surgery at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), where her research focuses on molecular mechanisms of cardiac regeneration.

Her primary research interests center on comparative heart regeneration biology, specifically investigating why zebrafish exhibit remarkable cardiac regenerative capacity while mammals heal through scarring. Her laboratory employs genetic and genomic approaches to dissect zebrafish heart regeneration mechanisms, with particular focus on gene expression profiling during regeneration, conservation of regenerative pathways in mammals, and potential therapeutic applications for congenital and ischemic heart diseases. Key research areas include cardiac lymphatic vasculature development, coronary vessel revascularization, and metabolic regulation of cardiomyocyte proliferation.

Dr. Lien's publication record demonstrates consistent leadership in cardiac regeneration research, with recent work emphasizing single-nuclei multiomic analyses, advanced imaging techniques for zebrafish hearts, and translational applications for human cardiac therapies. Her research bridges developmental biology, regenerative medicine, and cardiovascular disease modeling through innovative use of zebrafish and neonatal mouse models.

Her laboratory maintains strong technical expertise in

• Zebrafish genetic models
• Cardiac injury and regeneration protocols
• Advanced cardiac imaging (ultrasound, microscopy)
• Single-cell genomics
• Cardiac lymphatic system analysis

with research findings directly informing potential regenerative therapies for human heart disease.