Xian Wu

Xian Wu, Ph.D., serves as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine. Her research leverages human stem cell models to investigate developmental vulnerabilities to environmental contaminants in cardiovascular and neural systems, with emphasis on epigenetic mechanisms and disease modeling.

Dr. Wu's academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Georgia
• M.S. in Biomedicine from East China Normal University
• B.S. in Biotechnology from Anhui University

Her postdoctoral training comprised a Fellowship at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and an ORISE Fellowship at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Research focuses on creating human stem cell-derived organoid systems to model developmental toxicology, particularly examining cardiac and neural development under chemical exposure. The laboratory employs fluorescence reporter systems and RNA-seq to identify critical vulnerability windows during early development, with recent work targeting Parkinson's disease mechanisms through dopaminergic neuron models and cardiac fibrosis via advanced organoids. Methodological innovations include high-content imaging for neurogenesis quantification and epigenetic pathway analysis.

Publication trends (2016-2025) demonstrate consistent advancement in stem cell-based toxicology testing, with increasing emphasis on micro/nanoplastics risk assessment, arsenic neurotoxicity mechanisms, and doxorubicin cardiotoxicity modeling. The work bridges environmental health, epigenetics, and regenerative medicine through interdisciplinary approaches.

Scientific recognition includes:

• 2025 SPARC Award (ECU)
• 2024 Top Abstract Award (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Society)
• 2024 NIEHS P30 Center Travel Award
• 2023 ECU Research and Creative Activity Award

Dr. Wu actively mentors graduate researchers including Ph.D. candidate Cate Duncan and M.S. students Kamilah Muhammad and Bailey Skeen, alongside undergraduate Bryce Tilghman. Former trainees McKyrah Brown and Monica Cross completed honors theses in the laboratory. Current grants include ECU's SPARC Award funding stem cell model development for environmental contaminant testing.

The BSOM 6S-11 laboratory maintains specialized capabilities in cardiac and cerebral organoid generation, fluorescence-based toxicity screening, and RNA-seq epigenetic analysis. Collaborative networks include the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and ECU's Center for Human Health and the Environment, supporting translational research on developmental vulnerability periods.