The UVA Cancer Center has welcomed Shengyi Iris Sun, PhD , Associate Professor of Pharmacology, to its Cancer Biology Research Program. Dr. Sun’s research focuses on protein homeostasis and quality control, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) biology, nutrient metabolism, and liver physiology, with an emphasis on how the ER affects health and disease, particularly in the folding and maturation of newly synthesized proteins. She aims to deepen understanding of ER-associated degradation (ERAD), a cellular quality-control process that eliminates improperly folded proteins in the ER, which may contribute to disease pathogenesis. Through interdisciplinary research, Dr. Sun examines the role of ERAD in various physiological and pathological contexts, including protein biogenesis, nutrient metabolism in the liver, and germ-line stem cell differentiation. She also explores how pathogenic protein mutations drive human diseases and how ERAD modulates these processes.
Dr. Sun earned a BS in biology from the University of Hong Kong and a PhD in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology from Cornell University. She then completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Texas Southwestern.
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