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Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Jia Nie

Graduate Certificates Student

My long-term goal is to identify a novel therapeutic approach for diabetes by combining computational methods and molecular biology knowledge. My passion for scientific research originated from my graduate training, during which I discovered a novel signaling pathway that regulates incretin effects in islet β-cells. Later, I extend my research field to identify mechanisms by which pancreatic islet dysfunction contributes to the progression of metabolic diseases in older populations. By applying the novel single-cell transcriptomic method, my project discovered an age-associated resilience of mouse pancreatic islets to diet-induced obesity. My work has produced fifteen publications, one book chapter, six of which as the first author and two as the corresponding author.

During my postdoctoral training, I was awarded T32 Fellowship for Biology of Aging. My work on the single-cell transcriptomic atlas of healthy mouse islets sampled across different age groups has uncovered a remarkable effect of aging on islet cell composition, diversity, and number. As a testimony of my exciting research work, I received the San Antonio Claude D. Pepper San Antonio (RL5) Scholar Award and American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) Postdoctoral Transitional Award, which provided funding to extend my exciting research work to non-human primate models. By applying single-cell transcriptomics on marmoset islets, my work demonstrates that long-term treatment of marmoset monkeys with orally administered encapsulated rapamycin significantly decreased the ratio of beta cells to alfa cells of all detected islet cells. My unique research experience in aging research combined with single-cell analysis will provide me with great potential to collaborate with our faculties at the department and build a robust research program for translational geroscience research. 

Education

 

INSTITUTION AND LOCATION

DEGREE

Start Date

Completion Date

FIELD OF STUDY

 

 

Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China

B.S.

09/2001

06/2005

Biotechnology

 

Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

M.S.

09/2005

06/2008

Biochemistry

 

Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China*

Ph.D.

09/2008

12/2012

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

 

Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA

Postdoctoral

Fellow

06/2013

03/2015

Islet Dysfunction in Diabetes

 

Barshop Aging Institute, º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ, San Antonio, TX, USA

Postdoctoral

Fellow

03/2016

Present

Regulation of Pancreatic Islet Homeostasis

 

*Degree was awarded in China, but the thesis research work was completed at Pennsylvania State University Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.

Awards

 

2010

Best Poster Award in the 7th Diabetes and Obesity Research Symposium, Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA

2011

Career Award in the 4th Scientific Symposium of the Chinese American Diabetes Association (CADA), San Diego, CA, USA

2012

First Place for Best Oral Presentation and Travel Award in the 5th Annual Conference of Midwest Islet Cell Club, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA

2014

Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Medical University, China

2015

Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award of Jiangsu Province, Education Department of Jiangsu Province, China

2016

Postdoctoral Fellowships, T32 Biology of Aging Training Grant, º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ, San Antonio, TX, USA

2017

2016 Annual Outstanding Achievement Award for Scientific Research in Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, China

2017

The 2nd Prize for Science and Innovation Award of Jiangsu Province in China

2018

Keystone Symposia Scholarship for Frontiers in Islet Biology and Diabetes, Feb 4 - Feb 8, 2018, in Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colorado, USA

2018

Selected Oral Presentation at the American Diabetes Association’s 78th Scientific Sessions, June 22-26, 2018 in Orlando, Florida, USA

2019

Mentored Research Career Development RL5 Scholar Program, San Antonio Claude D.Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA

Publications

Jia D, Zhang J, Nie J, Andersen JP, Rendon S, Zheng Y, Liu X, Tian Z, Shi Y. Cardiolipin Remodeling by ALCAT1 Links Hypoxia to Coronary Artery Disease by Promoting Mitochondrial Dysfunction. Mol Ther. 2021 Jun 7. PMID: 34111561.

Andersen JP, Zhang J, Sun H, Liu X, Liu J, Nie J, Shi Y. Aster-B coordinates with Arf1 to regulate mitochondrial cholesterol transport. (2020). Mol Metab. Dec;42:101055. PubMed PMID: 32738348.

Zhang J, Andersen JP, Sun H, Liu X, Sonenberg N, Nie J, Shi Y. Aster-C coordinates with COP I vesicles to regulate lysosomal trafficking and activation of mTORC1. (2020). EMBO Rep. Sep 3;21(9): e49898. PubMed PMID: 32648345.

Dodds SG, Parihar M, Javors M, Nie J, Musi N, Dave Sharp Z, Hasty P. Acarbose improved survival for Apc+/Min mice. (2020). Aging Cell. Feb;19(2): e13088. PubMed PMID: 31903726.

Song C, Zhang J, Qi S, Liu Z, Zhang X, Zheng Y, Andersen JP, Zhang W, Strong R, Martinez PA, Musi N, Nie J, Shi Y. Cardiolipin remodeling by ALCAT1 links mitochondrial dysfunction to Parkinson's diseases. (2019). Aging Cell. Jun;18(3): e12941. PubMed PMID: 30838774.

Zhang X, Zhang J, Sun H, Liu X, Zheng Y, Xu D, Wang J, Jia D, Han X, Liu F, Nie J, Shi Y. Defective Phosphatidylglycerol Remodeling Causes Hepatopathy, Linking Mitochondrial Dysfunction to Hepatosteatosis. (2019). Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 7(4):763-781. PubMed PMID: 30831319.

Liang H, Nie J, Van Skike CE, Valentine JM, Orr ME. Mammalian Target of Rapamycin at the Crossroad Between Alzheimer's Disease and Diabetes.  (2019). Adv Exp Med Biol.1128:185-225. Review. PubMed PMID: 31062331.

Nie J*, Sun C, Chang Z, Musi N, Shi Y. SAD-A Promotes Glucose-stimulated Insulin Secretion through Phosphorylation and Inhibition of GDIα in Male Islet β-cells. (2018). Endocrinology. Aug 1; 159(8):3036-3047. PMID: 29873699.

Zhang J, Xu D, Nie J, Han R, Zhai Y, Shi Y. Comparative Gene Identification-58 (CGI-58) Promotes Autophagy as a Putative Lysophosphatidylglycerol Acyltransferase. (2014). Journal of Biological Chemistry.289(47):33044-53. PMID: 25315780.

Wang L, Liu X, Nie J, Zhang J, Kimball SR, Zhang H, Zhang W, Jefferson LS, Cheng Z, Ji Q, Shi Y. ALCAT1 Controls Mitochondrial Etiology of Fatty Liver Diseases Through Oxidative Stress and Defective Mitophagy. (2014). Hepatology. doi: 10.1002/ hep.27420. PMID: 25203315.

Zhang J, Xu D, Nie J, Cao J, Zhai Y, Tong D, Shi Y. Monoacylglycerol acyltransferase-2 is a tetrameric enzyme that selectively heterodimerizes with diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1. (2014). Journal of Biological Chemistry.289(15):10909-18. PMID: 24573674.

Nie J, Han X, Shi Y. SAD-A and AMPK kinases: The "yin and yang" regulators of mTORC1 signaling in pancreatic β-cells. (2013). Cell Cycle. 12(21):3366-9. PMID: 24047693. 

Nie J, Liu X, Lilley BN, Zhang H, Pan YA, Kimball SR, Zhang J, Zhang W, Wang L, Jefferson LS, Sanes JR, Han X, Shi Y. SAD-A Kinase Controls Islet β-cell Size and Function as a Mediator of mTORC1 Signaling. (2013). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110(34):13857-62. PMID: 23922392.

Nie J, , , , , , , , . SAD-A Potentiates Glucose-stimulated Insulin Secretion as a Mediator of GLP-1 Response in Pancreatic β-cells. (2012). Molecular and Cellular Biology. 33(13):2527-34. PMID: 23629625. 

Sun C, Tian L, Nie J, Zhang H, Han X, Shi Y. Inactivation of MARK4, an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-related kinase, leads to insulin hypersensitivity and resistance to diet-induced obesity. (2012). The Journal of biological chemistry. 287(45):38305-15. PMID: 22992738.

Liu X, Ye B, Miller S, Yuan H, Zhang H, Tian L, Nie J, Imae R, Arai H, Li Y, Cheng Z, Shi Y. Ablation of ALCAT1 Mitigates Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy through Effects on Oxidative Stress and Mitophagy. (2012). Molecular and Cellular Biology. 32(21):4493-504. PMID: 22949503.

Nie J, Sun C, Faruque O, Ye G, Li J, Liang Q, Chang Z, Yang W, Han X, Shi Y. Synapses of Amphids Defective (SAD-A) Kinase Promotes Glucose-stimulated Insulin Secretion through Activation of p21-activated Kinase (PAK1) in Pancreatic β-Cells. (2012). Journal of Biological Chemistry. 287(31):26435-44. PMID: 22669945.

Nie J, Hao X, Chen D, Han X, Chang Z, Shi Y. A Novel Function of the Human CLS1 in Phosphatidylglycerol Synthesis and Remodeling. (2010). - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids.1801(4):438-45. PMID: 20025994.

Meng Z, Lv J, Luo Y, Lin Y, Zhu Y, Nie J, Yang T, Sun Y, Han X. Forkhead Box O1/Pancreatic and Duodenal Homeobox 1 Intracellular Translocation Is Regulated by c-Jun N-terminal Kinase and Involved in Prostaglandin E2-induced Pancreatic b-cell Dysfunction. (2009). Endocrinology. 150(12):5284-93. PMID: 19837872.

Meng ZX, Nie J, Ling JJ, Sun JX, Zhu YX, Gao L, Lv JH, Zhu DY, Sun YJ, Han X. Activation of Liver X Receptors Inhibits Pancreatic Islet b-cell Proliferation through Cell Cycle Arrest. (2009). Diabetologia. 52(1):125-35. PMID: 18949453.