Prof. JIANG, Yangzi

Research Assistant Professor

Personal Information

Research Assistant Professor of the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Office: (852) 3943 5153
Email: yangzjiang21@cuhk.edu.hk
Address: Room 421A, 4/F, Lo Kwee-Seong Integrated Biomedical Science Building, Area 39, CUHK
ORCID: 0000-0002-7475-3182
SBS Website: https://www2.sbs.cuhk.edu.hk/en-gb/people/academic-staff/prof-jiang-yangzi
Website: http://jianglabrm.com/

Prof. JIANG, Yangzi received Bachelor (2007) and PhD (2012) in Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, and did her postdoctoral training (2012-2018) at University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.  Prof. Jiang joined CUHK in 2018, and she is currently a Research Assistant Professor at iTERM/SBS, CUHK.

Contribution to the Field

Prof. Jiang’s previous research work has focused on creating tissue regeneration strategies of musculoskeletal system, particularly in bone and cartilage. Her publications cover the topics of stem cells, tissue engineering, cell transplantation, biomaterials, pathology of osteoarthritis, and translational medicine.

Prof. Jiang has sought to understand the stem/progenitor cell origin (Nat Rev Rheum, 2015) and signaling pathways (Arthritis Res Therapy, 2015) of human articular cartilage in both healthy and disease conditions, and apply these knowledge to instruct the production of functional tissue replacements for clinical use. Prof. Jiang’s work of taking the cartilage derived stem/progenitor cells for repair large-size of osteochondral defect (6-13 cm2, ave 8.5 cm2) in 15 young patients (Stem Cells Transl Med, 2016) has also paved a way for the autologous cell-based Tissue Engineering Techniques as Class III Therapeutics in China (J Ortho Transl, 2014), and many patients had been benefited from her hard work.

Research Interests and Expertise

  1. Development of therapeutic strategies for musculoskeletal tissue regeneration
  2. The mechanism for degenerative and inflammatory diseases
  3. Cell based therapy and translational medicine

Expertise key words:  Osteoarthritis, Tissue Specific Stem Cells; Cartilage; Tissue Engineering; Cell-Based Therapy and Translational Medicine.

Selected Publications

Section A (in recent 5 years):

  1. He J†, Jiang Y†, Alexander PG, Ulici V, Zhu Y, Wu S, Tuan RS. “Infrapatellar fat pad aggravates degeneration of acute traumatized cartilage: a possible role for Interleukin-6.”Osteoarthritis Cartilage, 2017; 25(1):138-145. (†Co-first author)
  2. Jiang Y, Cai Y, Zhang W, Hu C, Tong T, Lu P, Zhang S, Neculai D, Tuan R, Ouyang HW. “Human cartilage derived progenitor cells from committed chondrocytes for efficient cartilage repair and regeneration.” Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 2016; 5(6):733-744. 
  3. Jiang Y, Hu C, Yu S, Yan J, Peng H, Ouyang HW, Tuan RS. “Cartilage stem/progenitor cells are activated in osteoarthritis via interleukin-1β/nerve growth factor signaling.” Arthritis Research & Therapy, 2015; 17:327.
  4. Jiang Y, Tuan R. “Origin and function of cartilage stem/progenitor cells in osteoarthritis.” Nature Reviews Rheumatology, 2015; 11(4):206-212.
  5. Zhang W, Heng BC, Jiang Y**, Ouyang HW*. “Clinical translation of autologous cell-based tissue engineering techniques as Class III Therapeutics in China: taking cartilage tissue engineering as an example.” Journal of Orthopaedic Translation; 2014; 2(2):56-65. (**co-corresponding author)

Section B (beyond 5 years):

  1. Jiang Y, Chen L, Zhang S, Tong T, Zhang W, Liu W, Xu G, Tuan RS, Heng BC, Crawford R, Xiao Y, Ouyang HW. “Incorporation of bioactive polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine within bilayered collagen scaffolds enhances the differentiation and subchondral osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells.” Acta Biomaterialia, 2013; 9(9):8089-8098.
  2. Zhang S, Jiang Y, Zhang W, Chen L, Tong T, Liu W, Mu Q, Liu H, Ji J, Ouyang HW, Zou X. “Neonatal desensitization supports long-term survival and functional integration of human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells in rat joint cartilage without immunosuppression.” Stem Cells and Development, 2013; 22(1):90-101.
  3. Jiang Y, Chen LK, Zhu DC, Zhang GR, Qi YY, Ouyang HW. “The inductive effect of bone morphogenetic protein-4 on chondral-lineage differentiation and in situ cartilage repair.” Tissue Engineering Part A, 2010; 16(5):1621-1632.
  4. Jiang Y, Zhang S, Wang L, Ouyang HW. “Cell transplantation for articular cartilage defects: principles of past, present and future practice.” Cell Transplantation, 2010; 20(5):593-607.
  5. Zou X†, Jiang Y†, Zhang G, Jin H, Hieu NT, Ouyang HW. “Specific interactions between human fibroblasts and particular chondroitin sulfate molecules for wound healing.” Acta Biomaterialia, 2008; 5(5):1588-1595. (†Co-first author)

Grant Record

  1. Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China, National Key R&D Program, Young Scientist Scheme (國家重點研發計劃“幹細胞與轉化醫學”重點專項,青年科學家項目)[PI; 2019 to 2023]: “Stem Cells and Translational Medicine” (HK$6,000,000).

Academic Service

Journal & Conference Reviewer – Acta Biomaterialia; Cell & Tissue Research; Cytotherapy; Environment International; Expert Opinion On Biological Therapy; Molecular Therapy – Methods & Clinical Development; The FASEB Journal; Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting; PLOS One; Scientific Reports; Stem Cells International; Stem Cell Research & Therapy; Stem Cells Translational Medicine; Tissue Engineering (Part A/B)

Student Supervision: Co-Mentor with Senior PIs (Prof. Rocky S TUAN, Univ. of Pittsburgh and CUHK; Prof. Hong-wei Ouyang, Zhejiang Univ.): Medical Students & Doctors – 5: PhD students – 3; MPhil Students – 2; UG Students -many. Mentored students had been awarded with scholarships, research grants and honors from different universities, states and countries (China, Australia, and United States).