Yale University · GeneticsSun Nephrology Lab
Zhaoxia Sun · New Haven, Connecticut
Research Focus
Dr. Zhaoxia Sun's lab at Yale University focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms behind renal diseases and ciliary dysfunctions. The lab studies Nephronophthisis (NPHP), a genetic disorder leading to kidney cysts and fibrosis, and investigates how the assembly of dynein arms affects cilia motility, which is crucial for respiratory function. By combining mouse and zebrafish models with advanced genetic techniques, they aim to discover new therapeutic targets for these debilitating conditions.
nephronophthisisrenal fibrosisciliary motilitydynein assemblyprimary ciliary dyskinesiacyst formationmurine modelszebrafish geneticsstromal-epithelial interaction
Research Aims
4AIM 01Investigate the role of NPHP2 in renal epithelial cells and its effect on fibrosis and cyst formation.
AIM 02Analyze the communication between epithelial and stromal cells in the context of NPHP2 deficiency.
AIM 03Characterize the mechanism of dynein arm assembly and its implications for primary ciliary dyskinesia.
AIM 04Define the biochemical relationships of Ruvbl1 and Ruvbl2 with dynein assembly factors.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturegenetic knockout modelingtranscriptome profilingpathway analysismolecular cloningZebrafish geneticsimmunohistochemistrymicroscopyRNA sequencing
Output against the department
Publications50bottom 10% of dept.233rd of 259
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.4kbottom 23% of dept.199th of 259
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.