Miaomiao Li, PhD

Dr. Li's research mainly focuses on understanding the role of heparan sulfate in bone health and inflammation, with the goal to develop novel therapy towards osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis and periodontitis. Heparan sulfate is an essential polysaccharide universally expressed at the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix. By interacting with hundreds of proteins, heparan sulfate plays significant roles in human health and disease, which makes it represent a class of biomolecule of great pharmaceutical interests. Dr. Li has extensive experience studying how heparan sulfate works with specific proteins like osteoprotegerin, RAGE, and sclerostin, which are important for bone health and inflammation. The long-term goal of the Li lab is to use this knowledge to develop new treatments that can target heparan sulfate–protein interactions and help treat bone and inflammatory diseases.