Yarui Diao

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

I lead a functional genomics lab and my lab’s research is mainly focused on two areas: 1) developing new functional genomics tools to study genome structure and function; 2) using skeletal muscle regeneration and muscle stem cell as our model system to study gene regulation of tissue regeneration in health and diseases conditions, such as injury, muscular dystrophy, aging, and rhabdomyosarcoma. My research has been supported by Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), V Foundation for Cancer Research, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, Kahn program and Translating Duke Health, Glenn Foundation and American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), Elsa. U Pardee foundation, Cancer Moonshot℠ Research Initiatives and NIH.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Assistant Professor of Cell Biology
  • Assistant Professor in Pathology
  • Assistant Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery
  • Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center
  • Member of the Duke Cancer Institute

Contact Information

Education

  • Ph.D. University of Hong Kong (China), 2011

Research Interests

1. Gene regulation of muscle regeneration.
2. Genomics technology development.
3. Genetic and epigenetic control of rhabdomyosarcoma.

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

  • Genomic Innovator Awards. NIH/NHGRI. 2020
  • Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Junior Faculty Award. American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR). 2019
  • V Scholar Award. The V Foundation For Cancer Research. 2019
  • Whitehead Scholar. Duke University School of Medicine. 2018
  • Human Frontier Science Program Long-Term Fellowship. HFSP. 2014

Courses Taught

  • UPGEN 778F: University Program in Genetics and Genomics Biological Solutions Module VI
  • UPGEN 778E: University Program in Genetics and Genomics Biological Solutions Module V
  • CMB 710E: Cell & Molecular Biology Module V
  • CMB 710D: Cell & Molecular Biology Module IV
  • CELLBIO 493: Research Independent Study

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Lee, Min Jin, Manel Ben Hammouda, Wanying Miao, Arinze E. Okafor, Yingai J. Jin, Huiying Sun, Vaibhav Jain, et al. “UBE2N Is Essential for Maintenance of Skin Homeostasis and Suppression of Inflammation.” J Invest Dermatol 144, no. 12 (December 2024): 2742–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jid.2024.04.017.
  • Puviindran, Vijitha, Eijiro Shimada, Zeyu Huang, Xinyi Ma, Ga I. Ban, Yu Xiang, Hongyuan Zhang, et al. “Single cell analysis of Idh mutant growth plates identifies cell populations responsible for longitudinal bone growth and enchondroma formation.” Sci Rep 14, no. 1 (October 31, 2024): 26208. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76539-y.
  • Ban, Ga I., Vijitha Puviindran, Yu Xiang, Puvi Nadesan, Jackie Tang, Jianhong Ou, Nicholas Guardino, et al. “The COMPASS complex maintains the metastatic capacity imparted by a subpopulation of cells in UPS.” IScience 27, no. 7 (July 19, 2024): 110187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110187.
  • Huang, Biao, Zipeng Zeng, Sunghyun Kim, Connor C. Fausto, Kari Koppitch, Hui Li, Zexu Li, et al. “Long-term expandable mouse and human-induced nephron progenitor cells enable kidney organoid maturation and modeling of plasticity and disease.” Cell Stem Cell 31, no. 6 (June 6, 2024): 921-939.e17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2024.04.002.
  • Ando, Kazunori, Jianhong Ou, John D. Thompson, John Welsby, Sushant Bangru, Jingwen Shen, Xiaolin Wei, Yarui Diao, and Kenneth D. Poss. “A screen for regeneration-associated silencer regulatory elements in zebrafish.” Dev Cell 59, no. 5 (March 11, 2024): 676-691.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2024.01.004.