Dr. Yiqin Du is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology, Cell Biology and Developmental Biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration.

Dr. Du earned her medical degree at Xuzhou Medical University, China. She later earned her PhD in ophthalmology and cell biology from Beijing University, where she also did postdoctoral work in stem cell biology and stem cell therapy in Ophthalmology. She came to the University of Pittsburgh to study corneal stromal stem cells, trabecular meshwork stem cells, embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells for glaucoma and tissue engineering.

Dr. Du is a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals, such as Biomaterials, IOVS: Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Stem Cell Research, Stem Cells Translational Medicine, Experimental Eye Research, Tissue Engineering, Clinical Ophthalmology, et al. She has been invited to review grants for the Clinical and Rehabilitative Medicine Research Program (CRMRP) and the Fight for Sight Foundation. She has been invited as a speaker in national and international conferences such as the World Glaucoma Congress and the International Society for Eye Research (ISER). Dr. Du is a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), the International Society for Eye Research (ISER), and the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).

Dr. Du’s current research efforts include projects to investigate stem cells from trabecular meshwork and other stem cell types and cell-based therapy for glaucoma, and a project to elucidate the biological properties of adult stem cells from corneal stroma and discover their roles in corneal maintenance and healing and immunosuppression property.

View a list of Dr. Du’s publications here.