Fang Ni, M.D., Ph.D.

Principle Investigator

Tel: +86-551-63606329

Email: fangni@ustc.edu.cn

Address: Medical Science Building, Rm 212 Mid-campus, USTC Hefei, Anhui 230027 China

Personal Profile:

Dr. Ni received her bachelor degree in Clinical Medicine from Anhui Medical University, China in 2003. She received her Ph.D. degree in Cell Biology from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2013. During 2015-2019, Dr. Ni worked as a Postdoctoral fellow at the Laboratory of Hematology, School of Medicine, Emory University, USA. In September 2019, Dr. Ni joined the Division of Life Sciences and Medicine at USTC as a Principle Investigator and started the Laboratory of Hematology&Immunology.

Research Interest:

The laboratory mainly focuses on biomechanics, immune metabolism and other frontier directions, through multidisciplinary research, to reveal the regulation mechanism of hematopoietic/immune homeostasis and its imbalance. We are particularly interested in the following two major research areas:

1) Hematology: Hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis

2) Immunology: Natural killer cells in aging/stress/ leukemia

Selected Publications:

1. Guo C^#, Wu M^#, Huang B^#, Zhao R, Jin L, Fu B, Wang P, Wang D, Zheng M, Fang J, Wei H*, Qu K*, Ni F*. Single-cell transcriptomics reveal a unique memory-like NK cell subset that accumulates with ageing and correlates with disease severity in COVID-19. Genome Med, 2022; 14(1):46.

2. Hu L^#,Ni F^#, Wang XY, Fay ME, Lam WA, Sulchek TA, and Qu CK*. Decreased cell stiffness enhances leukemia development and progression.Leukemia, 2020; 34, 2493–2497.

3. Ni F, Yu WM, Wang XY, Fay ME, Young KM, Qiu YZ, Lam WA, Sulchek TA, Cheng T, Scadden DT, and Qu CK*. Ptpn21 controls hematopoietic stem cell homeostasis and biomechanics. Cell Stem Cell, 2019; 24(4):608-620.e6.

4. Ni F, YuWM, Li ZG, GrahamDK, JinLT, Kang S, RossiMR, LiSY, BroxmeyerHE, and Qu CK*. Critical role of ASCT2-mediated amino acid metabolism in promoting leukeamia development and progression. Nature Metabolism, 2019;1(3):390-403.

5. Ni F, Sun R, Fu B, Wang F, Guo C, Tian Z*, Wei H*.IGF-1 promotes the development and cytotoxic activity of human NK cells.Nature Communications, 2013; 4:1479.

Job Opportunities:

We are seeking highly motivated undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows to join our research team. Applicants with expertise in hematology, immunology, and molecular and cellular biology are particularly welcome. Please contact Dr. NI Fang directly with your CV and a description of your previous research experience.