• Pitt
  • Health Sciences
  • UPMC
Regenerative Medicine at the McGowan InstituteRegenerative Medicine at the McGowan InstituteRegenerative Medicine at the McGowan InstituteRegenerative Medicine at the McGowan Institute
  • Home
  • Our People
    • Faculty/Staff Bios
    • Core Faculty Publications
    • Administrative Resources
  • Our Technologies
  • About Us
    • Welcome
    • Video
    • Mission Statement
    • What Is Regenerative Medicine?
    • Executive Committee
    • Contact Us
    • Clinical Site
  • Our Research
    • Focus Areas
      • Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials
      • Cellular Therapies
      • Medical Devices and Artificial Organs
      • Clinical Translation
    • Matrix
    • Centers
    • Laboratories
    • Clinical Trials
    • Initiatives
  • Media
    • Current News
    • News Archive
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Newsletter
    • Grant of the Month
    • Publication of the Month
    • Media Contact
    • Video Links
  • Professional Development
    • Seminar Series
    • Special Events
    • Student Interest Groups
    • CATER
    • Post-Doctoral Opportunities
    • Career Opportunities
    • Wiegand Summer Internship
    • Admissions
    • Summer School
    • 2022 Scientific Retreat

Donghun Shin, PhD

    Home Faculty/Staff Bios Donghun Shin, PhD

    Donghun Shin, PhD

    Dr. Donghun Shin is an Associate Professor, Department of Developmental Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Shin completed his undergraduate/graduate education at Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.  He completed his PhD training at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California.  For 5 years until 2010, Dr. Shin conducted post-doctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco, California. In the Department of Development Biology, Dr. Shin and his team’s long-term goal is to contribute to a better treatment of liver failure or liver diseases by understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating liver development and regeneration using zebrafish as a vertebrate model system. The liver is the most regenerative organ; however, this regenerative capacity is greatly reduced in the diseased liver, making liver transplantation the only definitive treatment for end-stage chronic liver diseases. The shortage of donor livers however makes this therapy extremely limited. If innate liver regeneration could be augmented in chronic liver patients, it may mitigate the diseases and improve quality of life. Thus, means to augment innate liver regeneration is considered a desirable and necessary alternative therapy. Understanding the mechanisms of liver regeneration is prerequisite for the development of such a therapy. During liver regeneration, hepatocytes can be derived from preexisting hepatocytes or from biliary epithelial cells (BECs). BEC-driven liver regeneration occurs when hepatocyte-driven liver regeneration is compromised, which is the case in chronic liver diseases. A correlation between the number of activated BECs, liver progenitor cells (LPCs), and disease severity in patients with chronic liver diseases suggests that BEC-driven liver regeneration can be initiated, but LPCs fail to differentiate into hepatocytes in the patients. Understanding the entire process of BEC-driven liver regeneration should provide significant insights into augmenting this process in liver patients as therapy. Dr. Shin and his team have established several zebrafish liver injury models in which BECs extensively give rise to hepatocytes. Using these models, the team has taken several approaches to better understand the mechanisms of LPC-driven liver regeneration: 1) chemical screening, 2) RNAseq analyses, and 3) genes/pathways important for liver development.  Currently, they have investigated how 1) epigenetic factors, 2) FGF signaling, and 3) PPAR regulate LPC-driven liver regeneration, particularly the differentiation of LPCs into hepatocytes. Dr. Shin currently has two NIH R01 funding awards (DK101426, 2014-2024; DK116993, 2018-2022).
    Name:
    Dr. Donghun Shin
    Website:
    www.devbio.pitt.edu/people/ant-1
    Email:
    donghuns@pitt.edu
    Phone:
    (412) 624-2144
    • site map
    • links
    • contact
    • subscribe to our newsletter
    © Copyright 2021 McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
    A program of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
    • Home
    • Our People
      • Faculty/Staff Bios
      • Core Faculty Publications
      • Administrative Resources
    • Our Technologies
    • About Us
      • Welcome
      • Video
      • Mission Statement
      • What Is Regenerative Medicine?
      • Executive Committee
      • Contact Us
      • Clinical Site
    • Our Research
      • Focus Areas
        • Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials
        • Cellular Therapies
        • Medical Devices and Artificial Organs
        • Clinical Translation
      • Matrix
      • Centers
      • Laboratories
      • Clinical Trials
      • Initiatives
    • Media
      • Current News
      • News Archive
      • Video
      • Podcasts
      • Newsletter
      • Grant of the Month
      • Publication of the Month
      • Media Contact
      • Video Links
    • Professional Development
      • Seminar Series
      • Special Events
      • Student Interest Groups
      • CATER
      • Post-Doctoral Opportunities
      • Career Opportunities
      • Wiegand Summer Internship
      • Admissions
      • Summer School
      • 2022 Scientific Retreat
    Regenerative Medicine at the McGowan Institute