Cardiac Injury Models
Myocardial infarction, cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury, TAC, TAC debanding, pulmonary hypertension, and mitral valve regurgitation models.
MD, PhD | Cardiovascular & Translational Research
Xuejing Yu
Physician-scientist with 10+ years of cardiovascular research and clinical practice, specializing in preclinical rodent surgical models, molecular biology, biomarker discovery, cardiovascular metabolism, and clinical data analysis.
10+ yrs
cardiovascular research and clinical practice
>95%
immediate survival in surgical mouse models reported in CV
MI / I-R / TAC
core models across cardiac injury and heart failure
Research Focus
Dr. Yu works at the intersection of clinical cardiology, animal surgery, molecular biology, in vivo physiology, and translational disease modeling. Her updated CV highlights both hands-on model development and leadership in surgical research operations.
Neurovascular Models
Stroke models including middle cerebral artery occlusion via microfilament insertion, cauterization, and suture ligation.
Metabolism & Biomarkers
Mitochondrial circadian metabolism, pyruvate-lactate signaling, RNA biomarkers, and gene-expression analysis.
Clinical Translation
Clinical trial data analysis, MAUDE device safety analysis, cardiovascular diagnostics, and outcomes-focused research.
Research Capabilities
The updated profile emphasizes the full preclinical research pipeline, from surgical model creation to functional assessment, tissue analysis, molecular assays, and scientific communication.
Preclinical and translational depth
From model design to mechanistic insight
Dr. Yu has extensive experience with cardiovascular mouse models and broader large-animal exposure, including rat limb thrombosis, pig myocardial infarction models using ex vivo thrombus infusion, and rabbit coronary artery stent implantation.
Tissue harvesting, skeletal muscle isolation, osmotic pump implantation, PO/IV/IP/SC dosing, and blood collection.
Small-animal echocardiography, ECG, laser speckle imaging, treadmill testing, and blood pressure monitoring.
Cardiomyocytes, cardiac fibroblasts, bone marrow-derived macrophages, HUVECs, and lymphocytes.
qRT-PCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, FACS, ELISA, TTC/Evans Blue staining, and RNA-seq interpretation.
Surgical Research Facility
Supervision and operational management of a surgical facility at the Stanley and Judith Frankel Institute for Heart and Brain Health.
Heart & Brain Research
Current work at the University of Michigan spans cardiac and stroke model development in an advanced medical research environment.
Myocardial Infarction
Harvard/MGH research included hydrogel application in mouse myocardial infarction models and device safety analysis.
Clinical Cardiology Base
Clinical grounding includes ECG and Holter interpretation and cardiovascular diagnostic reporting at Fuwai Cardiological Hospital.
Institutional Path
The trajectory spans clinical medicine in China, postdoctoral cardiovascular research across major U.S. medical centers, and current surgical research leadership at the University of Michigan.
2023 - Present
University of Michigan
Research Area Specialist Senior in Ann Arbor; develops and validates preclinical rodent models and manages surgical facility operations.
2021 - 2023
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Postdoctoral researcher in cardiology; focused on cardiac ischemia/reperfusion, mitochondrial metabolism, imaging, and molecular biology.
2020 - 2021
UPMC
Postdoctoral associate studying microbubbles and ultrasound in microthrombolysis across in vitro and in vivo models.
2017 - 2019
MGH / Harvard
Research fellow studying myocardial infarction hydrogel applications, Watchman device outcomes, and Lyme carditis predictors.
2010 - 2011
Fuwai Cardiological Hospital
Cardiologist interpreting standard and ambulatory ECG/Holter monitoring and supporting cardiovascular diagnostic decisions.
2014 - 2017
Peking University
PhD in Cardiology, with research on RNA sequencing, atrial fibrillation, heart failure biomarkers, and cardiovascular gene expression.
Detailed Experience
A condensed timeline drawn from the April 2025 CV, emphasizing current responsibilities and translational research experience.
May 2023 - Present
Research Area Specialist Senior, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Develops and validates rodent models for myocardial infarction, ischemia/reperfusion injury, TAC, TAC debanding, and stroke; supervises surgical facility operations and controlled-substance processes at the Stanley and Judith Frankel Institute for Heart and Brain Health.
Apr 2021 - Apr 2023
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Cardiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Advanced cardiovascular and cerebrovascular models, animal dosing, in vivo imaging, primary cell isolation, histology, biomarker detection, and mitochondrial circadian metabolism in cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury.
Sep 2020 - Mar 2021
Postdoctoral Associate, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Studied microbubbles and ultrasound for microthrombolysis in vitro and in vivo, including rats, rabbits, and pigs; investigated re-endothelialization after novel drug-eluted stent implantation.
Aug 2019 - Aug 2020
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Utah School of Medicine
Investigated mitochondrial pyruvate carrier function in right and left heart failure and contributed to work on the pyruvate-lactate axis in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.
Sep 2017 - Jul 2019
Research Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard University
Worked on gelatin methacryloyl bioadhesive in mouse myocardial infarction models, MAUDE database analysis for left atrial appendage closure, and Lyme carditis outcomes.
2009 - 2011
Clinical Experience, Fuwai Cardiological Hospital and West China Hospital
Cardiology diagnostics, inpatient and outpatient care, broad clinical rotations, and assistance in major procedures including cardiac valve replacement and liver transplantation.
Education & Skills
Formal medical training in clinical medicine and cardiology, supported by a broad technical toolkit for translational cardiovascular research.
- 2014 - 2017 PhD in Cardiology, Peking University, Beijing
- 2011 - 2014 MMed in Cardiology, Chongqing Medical University
- 2005 - 2010 MD in Clinical Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu
- Software GraphPad Prism, SPSS, Stata, ImageJ, SnapGene, Vector NTI, Adobe Illustrator, MedCalc, EndNote, NoteExpress, Primer Premier, DNAStar, Excel, Word, PowerPoint
- Assays PCR/qRT-PCR, reverse transcription, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, FACS, ELISA, MTT, CCK-8, TUNEL, IHC, ISH, TTC and Evans Blue staining
- Communication Clear scientific presentations, cross-functional collaboration, project leadership, and high-quality delivery under demanding timelines.
Selected Publications
Representative publications and research contributions across heart failure, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, device outcomes, and biomedical mechanisms.
The pyruvate-lactate axis modulates cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure
Cell Metabolism, 2021. Co-authored work on metabolic mechanisms in cardiac hypertrophy and failure.
Gelatin methacryloyl bioadhesive improves survival and reduces scar burden in myocardial infarction
Journal of the American Heart Association, 2020. Translational work using a mouse model of myocardial infarction.
Long noncoding RNAs and novel inflammatory genes in permanent atrial fibrillation
American Journal of Translational Research, 2017. First-author RNA sequencing work in human lymphocytes.
Plasma long noncoding RNA UCA1 predicts poor prognosis in chronic heart failure
Medical Science Monitor, 2017. First-author study on circulating RNA as a prognostic biomarker.
MAUDE database analysis of outcomes following left atrial appendage closure
The American Journal of Cardiology, 2021. Clinical outcomes analysis for Watchman device use.
Incidence of carditis and predictors of pacemaker implantation in Lyme disease
PLOS ONE, 2021. Outcomes research on hospitalized patients with Lyme disease.
Contact
Open to scientific collaboration, translational cardiovascular research conversations, manuscript review, editorial work, and opportunities connected to preclinical model development and surgical research operations.
Image Credits
- University of Michigan Medical Campus, Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0.
- UT Southwestern Medical Center, Nightryder84, Creative Commons license on Commons.
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY 4.0.
- UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Cbaile19, CC0.
- Fuwai Hospital, N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Peking University First Hospital, N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Cardiac surgery operating room, Pfree2014, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Laboratory mice, Aaron Logan, CC BY 1.0.
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