معرفی
Dr. Yu Hsuan Carol Yang is a Senior Lecturer in Cell Biology at the University of Exeter Medical School, where she has led research since 2020. Her work focuses on neural-endocrine interactions in pancreatic development and diabetes using zebrafish models, building on her PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of British Columbia and postdoctoral training at the Max Planck Institute.
Her educational background includes:
- BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and Chemistry, University of British Columbia
- PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology, University of British Columbia (2008-2014)
Dr. Yang's research centers on molecular mechanisms of diabetes initiation, with emphasis on pancreatic beta cell survival, neural regulation of islet function, and stress responses. She pioneers zebrafish models for real-time imaging of neural-pancreatic crosstalk, revealing roles for axon guidance cues and autonomic innervation in metabolic homeostasis. Her lab integrates genetic, optogenetic, and high-throughput screening approaches to identify therapeutic targets.
Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2014-2022) shows consistent focus on neural-pancreatic interactions, beta cell stress responses, and zebrafish-based drug discovery. Key trends include the role of autonomic innervation in islet function (2016-2022), high-content screening for diabetes therapeutics (2014-2018), and molecular mechanisms of beta cell death under metabolic stress (2014-2020).
Her scientific recognition includes:
- Human Frontier Science Program Fellowship
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship
- European Molecular Biology Organization Fellowship
- Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE)
- ASPIRE Fellowship from the University of Exeter
Dr. Yang actively supervises PhD and Master's students in Cell Biology and Biomedical Sciences. Her research has been funded through prestigious international fellowships and University of Exeter internal grants:
- Research supervision: Postgraduate training in diabetes mechanisms, zebrafish modeling, and neural-endocrine interactions
- Grants: Human Frontier Science Program, CIHR, EMBO, and University of Exeter seed funding
She leads a research group at the RILD Building within the Exeter Biomedical Research Centre, utilizing zebrafish for dynamic imaging of pancreatic development. Her team collaborates with the Exeter Brain network and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre to translate findings into diabetes therapeutics.
