Principal Investigator 

Dongyin Guan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Medicine-Endocrinology, Molecular & Cellular Biology

PhD from Case Western Reserve University

Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Dongyin Guan received his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University and completed his postdoctoral training in Dr. Mitchell A. Lazar’s lab at the University of Pennsylvania. During that time, using genome-wide circadian enhancer mapping, he identified transcriptional regulatory networks controlling circadian rhythm remodeling in response to overnutrition. He found that targeting a key regulatory transcription factor, PPAR-alpha, at specific times of day could improve drug efficacy, providing a preclinical demonstration of circadian medicine. He also adapted single-cell RNA sequencing techniques and conducted the first single-nucleus RNA-seq study in the liver, leading to the discovery of intra-liver clock communication.

Dr. Guan then became an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. His lab recently defined, for the first time, how genetic variants affect circadian rhythms across human tissues. The overarching goal of his research program is to dissect interactions between the environment and genetic variation that control circadian physiology. His ultimate aim is to use this knowledge to identify pathways that enable the development of circadian medicine approaches and personalized nutritional interventions based on an individual's genetic background. His research has been supported by NIH R37 MERIT Award, CPRIT, and V Scholar Awards. He has also been active in the scientific community, including reviewers for journals such as Science, Cell Metabolism, and Nature Metabolism, and NIH study sections.