Yan Hu, PhD

Dr. Hu’s research aims to uncover therapeutic pathways to promote small airway and alveolar regeneration, particularly in diseases where current treatments are limited, such as COPD and BPD. Her lab employs cutting-edge methodologies, including single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, patient-derived lung organoids, ex vivo precision-cut lung slices, and transgenic animal disease models. By integrating these advanced approaches, Dr. Hu seeks to advance our understanding of lung epithelial progenitor cell function and develop innovative strategies to enhance lung tissue repair.

Publications

Yan Hu, PhD, is a Principal Investigator at the Center for Perinatal Research at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from China Agricultural University and a PhD in Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of Virginia. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Hu completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Colorado, specializing in lung epithelial progenitor biology. Her research focuses on unraveling the molecular mechanisms that regulate distal lung epithelial progenitor cell function in both health and chronic lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).