About
The Duan Lab has a long-standing interest in understanding the regulation, function, and evolution of the nutrient-sensitive insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IIS) hormonal pathways. Our current research focuses on the role of the IIS signaling in regulating cell plasticity in response to hypoxia, nutrient deficiency, and acidosis. The Duan lab also contributes to advancing the understanding of hypoxia and HIF biology.
Dr. Duan received his doctoral degree from University of Tokyo and was a postdoctoral fellow at University of Washington and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Recent Publications:
Wang, Z., Shah, J., Li, S., Jaggi, S., Xu, H., and Duan, C. (2026) Stc2a inhibits IGF-stimulated somatic growth in favor of organismal survival under hypoxic stress. Front. Endocrinol. 16:1729649.
Choi, E.#, Duan, C.#, and Bai. X.# (2025) Regulation and function of insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptor signaling. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41580-025-00826-3; # Co-corresponding author.
Li, Y., Liu, C., Rolling, L., Sikora, V., Chen, Z., Gurvin, J., Barabell, C., Lin, J., and Duan, C. (2023) ROS signaling-induced mitochondrial Sgk1 expression regulates epithelial cell renewal. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 120(24):e2216310120. e2216310120.
Liu, C., Li, S., Noer, P.R., Kjaer-Sorensen, K., Juhl, A. K., Goldstein, A., Ke, C., Oxvig, C., and Duan, C. (2020) The metalloproteinase Papp-aa controls epithelial cell quiescence to proliferation transition. eLife 2020;9:e52322.
Liu, C.*, Xin, Y.*, Bai, Y., Lewin, G., He, G., Mai, K., and Duan, C. (2018) Ca2+ concentration-dependent premature death of igfbp5a-/- fish reveals a critical role of IGF signaling in adaptive epithelial growth. Science Signaling, 11, eaat2231. * Co-first author.
Field(s) of Study
- Molecular and Developmental Endocrinology
Areas of Focus
- Cell Biology
- Development
- Neurobiology & Animal Physiology
