Postdoctoral Fellow, Johns Hopkins University (2017)
Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University (2011)
M.D. China Medical University (2004)

Research Interests:

Dr. Yuejin Li's research is to understand the mechanisms underlying heart muscle dysfunction in heart diseases, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, ischemic-reperfusion injury, and cardiac toxicity of cancer treatment. The primary function of heart is to pump out blood in order to supply oxygen and nutrients to different parts of the body. Sarcomere is the basic contractile unit of the striated muscle (both skeletal and heart muscle). Any alternation of sarcomeric protein may potentially affect heart function. Recent study on heart tissue of heart failure patients revealed several novel post-translational modification sites on sarcomeric proteins. Currently, Dr. Li uses recombinant proteins, isolated muscle, drosophila model, and mouse model to study whether and how modifications to those novel sites affect heart function in normal and diseased conditions.

Selected Publications:

• Li Y, Zhu G, Paolocci N, Takahashi C, Okumus N, Heravi A, Keceli G, Ramirez-Correa G, Kass DA, Murphy AM. Heart failure related hyper-phosphorylation in the cardiac troponin I C-terminus has divergent effects on cardiac function in vivo. Circulation: Heart Failure. 2017 (in press).
• Wijnker PJ*, Li Y* ( *co-first author), Zhang P, Foster DB, Dos Remedios CG, Van Eyk JE, Stienen GJM, Murphy AM, van der Velden J. A novel phosphorylation site, Serine 199, in the C-terminus of cardiac troponin I regulates calcium sensitivity and susceptibility to calpain-induced proteolysis. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2015; 82:93-103.
• Wijnker PJ, Sequeira V, Foster DB, Li Y, Dos Remedios CG, Murphy AM, Stienen GJM, van der Velden J. Length-dependent activation is modulated by cardiac troponin I biphosphorylation at Ser23 and Ser24 but not by Thr143 phosphorylation. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2014; 306(8):1171-81
• Li Y, Zhang L, Jean-Charles PY, Nan C, Chen G, Tian J, Jin J-P, Gelb I, Huang X. Dose-dependent diastolic dysfunction and early death in a mouse model with cardiac troponin mutations. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2013; 62:227-36.
• Zhang C, Jia P, Jia Y, Li Y, Webster KA, Huang X, Achary M, Lemanski SL, Lemanski LF. Anoxia, acidosis, and intergenic interactions selectively regulate methionine sulfoxide reductase transcriptions in mouse embryonic stem cells. J Cell Biochem. 2011; 112(1):98-106.
• Li Y, Jean-Charles PY, Nan C, Pinto JR, Wang Y, Liang J, Tian J, Feng HZ, Potter JD, Jin JP, Huang X. Correcting diastolic dysfunction by Ca2+ desensitizing troponin in a transgenic mouse model of restrictive cardiomyopathy. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2010; 49(3):402-11.