Zhen Yan, Ph.D.
"The relationship between the body and the mind is well-known, but recently people have found more evidence that exercise is probably one of the best interventions to promote a body-mind relationship, particularly to prevent diseases that are associated with aging like Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Exercise is better than medicine.”
Exploring the mechanisms of how exercise benefits human health
Can exercise improve the function of mitochondria to stave off human diseases?
Zhen Yan's research highlights the importance of the power plants of our cells, the mitochondria. The quantity, number, and function of mitochondria are critically important to maintaining good health. Yan believes dysfunctional mitochondria is the genesis of a range of deadly and deblitating human diseases, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, cancer, and cognitive decline. His research aims to find ways to improve mitochondrial quality and quantity. Exercise intervention is one of the best ways to promote mitochondrial function.
zhenyan1@vtc.vt.edu
540-526-2386
Room 2201, Riverside 4
- Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Director, Center for Exercise Medicine Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Professor, Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech
Akimoto T, Pohnert SC, Li P, Zhang M, Gumbs C, Rosenberg PB, Williams RS, Yan Z. Exercise stimulates Pgc-1alpha transcription in skeletal muscle through activation of the p38 MAPK pathway. J Biol Chem. 2005 May 20;280(20):19587-93. PubMed PMID: 15767263.
Laker RC, Lillard TS, Okutsu M, Zhang M, Hoehn KL, Connelly JJ, Yan Z. Exercise prevents maternal high-fat diet-induced hypermethylation of the Pgc-1α gene and age-dependent metabolic dysfunction in the offspring. Diabetes. 2014 May;63(5):1605-11. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5860829.
Call JA, Donet J, Martin KS, Sharma AK, Chen X, Zhang J, Cai J, Galarreta CA, Okutsu M, Du Z, Lira VA, Zhang M, Mehrad B, Annex BH, Klibanov AL, Bowler RP, Laubach VE, Peirce SM, Yan Z. Muscle-derived extracellular superoxide dismutase inhibits endothelial activation and protects against multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in mice. Free Radic Biol Med. 2017 Dec;113:212-223. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5740866.
Cui D, Drake JC, Wilson RJ, Shute RJ, Lewellen B, Zhang M, Zhao H, Sabik OL, Onengut S, Berr SS, Rich SS, Farber CR, Yan Z. A novel voluntary weightlifting model in mice promotes muscle adaptation and insulin sensitivity with simultaneous enhancement of autophagy and mTOR pathway. FASEB J. 2020 Jun;34(6):7330-7344. PubMed PMID: 32304342; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7325858.
Drake JC, Wilson RJ, Laker RC, Guan Y, Spaulding HR, Nichenko AS, Shen W, Shang H, Dorn MV, Huang K, Zhang M, Bandara AB, Brisendine MH, Kashatus JA, Sharma PR, Young A, Gautam J, Cao R, Wallrabe H, Chang PA, Wong M, Desjardins EM, Hawley SA, Christ GJ, Kashatus DF, Miller CL, Wolf MJ, Periasamy A, Steinberg GR, Hardie DG, Yan Z. Mitochondria-localized AMPK responds to local energetics and contributes to exercise and energetic stress-induced mitophagy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Sep 14;118(37). PubMed PMID: 34493662; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8449344.
University of Virginia, Professor
University of Virginia, Associate Professor
Duke University Medical Center, Associate Professor
Duke University Medical Center, Assistant Research Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Assistant Professor and Lead Scientist
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Ph.D., Physiology and Cell Biology
- University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, M.S., Kinesiology
- Medical Worker's College of Jiangsu Province, China, B.S. Med.
- Jacobæus Prize, Novo Nordisk Foundation, 2022
- Induction into the MilliPub Club, 2018
- Addgene Blue Flame Award, 2016
- University of Virginia Department of Medicine Outstanding Research Award, 2016
- University of Virginia Department of Medicine Outstanding Research Award, 2011
- Outstanding Innovator Award, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore, 2010
- American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant, 2001-2003
- American Heart Association Texas-Affiliate Beginning Grant-in-Aid, 1999-2000
- Appointed to NIH NRSA-Postdoctoral Fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 1995-1999
- 8th International Conference of Exercise Biochemistry Travel Grant, Research
- Group of Biochemistry of Exercise at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 1991
- Graduate School Thesis Award, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, 1990
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Why don’t people with diabetes respond as well to exercise? , article Date: Sep 10, 2024 -
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Article ItemSelf-described ‘mitochondria nerd’ explores exercise as medicine with new research award , article
Ryan Montalvo is an inaugural recipient of a Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Postdoctoral Excellence Award. He works in the lab of Zhen Yan, a leader in the field of exercise medicine research.
Date: Feb 19, 2024 -
Article ItemNew Fralin Biomedical Research Institute researcher pursues heart failure therapies , article
Assistant Professor Sumita Mishra explores specific molecular pathways underlying a common form of heart disease that afflicts millions of Americans, predominantly women.
Date: Dec 04, 2023 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC: Growth of an innovator , article
Since its founding in 2010, the research institute has become a focal point for biomedical research across Virginia Tech. It now has more than 450 faculty, staff, and students in Roanoke and Washington, D.C., supporting research fueled by $173.7 million in external grants.
Date: Aug 29, 2023 -
Article ItemInternational trainees selected for inaugural postdoctoral scholar program , article
Karthi Sreedevi and Xuansong Mao, postdoctoral associates at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, recently joined the new program created to help young professionals successfully launch their careers. They will receive additional training and support through the Research and Innovation Postdoctoral Scholars program.
Date: Apr 26, 2023 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech scientist to accept international prize for medical research , article
Zhen Yan, a top scientist in the field of exercise and metabolism, will accept a leading international honor for extraordinary achievements in medical research in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Date: Oct 12, 2022 -
Article ItemGlobal leader in cellular exercise research joins Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC , article
A top scientist who studies the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms through which exercise provides unmatched health benefits is joining Virginia Tech to lead research to preserve good health and prevent disease. Zhen Yan, an international molecular exercise and physiology researcher, will become the inaugural director of the new Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC Center for Exercise Medicine Research.
Date: Aug 24, 2022
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