University of Maryland, Baltimore · PharmacologyLiver Health and Drug Discovery Unit
Yan Shu · Baltimore, Maryland
Research Focus
Dr. Yan Shu's laboratory at the University of Maryland Baltimore focuses on discovering new drugs to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a liver disease affecting many Americans. The lab studies how certain proteins and pathways in the liver contribute to the disease and uses innovative small molecules to improve liver health. Their research aims to develop and evaluate new compounds that could become the first effective treatments for NASH.
NASHliver diseasesmall moleculesdrug developmentWnt/beta-cateninAMPKhepatic metabolismfibrosishepatocytes
Research Aims
5AIM 01Synthesize and evaluate new small molecules that inhibit Wnt/beta-catenin signaling and activate AMPK.
AIM 02Determine the mechanisms of action of lead compounds in liver cells and animal models.
AIM 03Test the efficacy and safety of new compounds in mouse models of NASH.
AIM 04Investigate the role of TAB182 in drug action against liver disease.
AIM 05Transform NASH treatment by developing a novel first-in-class therapeutic.
Skills the Lab Values
chemical synthesisin vitro assaysin vivo pharmacokineticsanimal modelsligand binding assaysgenetic knockdown techniquesWestern blotflow cytometrydrug profiling
Output against the department
Publications194top 45% of dept.208th of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations1.2kbottom 5% of dept.438th of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.