Yan-Ting Shiu

Dr. Yan-Ting Shiu is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah's Division of Nephrology and Hypertension and an Investigator at the Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute. She also holds adjunct appointments as Associate Professor in Nutrition & Integrative Physiology and Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Shiu leads the Vascular Access & Health Laboratory, which integrates medicine, bioscience, and engineering to enhance dialysis access and reduce the burdens of chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease.

Dr. Shiu earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University (1994), followed by a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Rice University (1999). She completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Diego. She joined the University of Utah Department of Bioengineering in 2002 and transitioned to Internal Medicine in 2010 to focus more intensively on research.

Dr. Shiu's research focuses on hemodialysis vascular access, particularly arteriovenous fistula dysfunction, vascular dysfunctions in patients with chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease, and mechanobiology. Her laboratory uses experimental and computational techniques to conduct both clinical and translational research. She has become a nationally and internationally recognized leader in translational research on hemodialysis arteriovenous access dysfunction. Her work has significantly advanced understanding of how hemodynamic forces regulate vascular function and identified novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets for hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction.

Dr. Shiu's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying hemodialysis arteriovenous fistula dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction in chronic kidney disease, and the role of hemodynamic factors like shear stress in vascular remodeling. Her research has evolved to include innovative therapeutic approaches such as nitric oxide-releasing nanomatrix gels and molecular interventions targeting pathways like β-catenin signaling to improve arteriovenous fistula outcomes.

• American Heart Association National Innovative Research Grant Program top 3 percentile score (2008)

Dr. Shiu has trained over 80 trainees, including visiting scholars, PhD students, MS students, and undergraduate students since 2002. Her laboratory has received substantial research funding as a principal investigator from the National Institutes of Health (R01), Department of Veterans Affairs (Merit Review), Western Institute for Biomedical (Veterans) Research, American Heart Association, National Kidney Foundation of Utah & Idaho, and industry partners. She is also an investigator in the NIH-funded HFM and CRIC studies, contributing to major multicenter clinical research initiatives in nephrology.

Dr. Shiu's laboratory, the Vascular Access & Health Laboratory, is a multidisciplinary team that includes researchers with backgrounds in medicine, engineering, and biology working together to address critical challenges in vascular access for hemodialysis patients. The lab maintains an active presence on social media through Twitter (@ShiuLab) and LinkedIn, sharing updates about research findings and professional activities.