Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
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yichunchen.bsky.social
Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
@yichunchen.bsky.social
Asst. Professor @USask. Physiology, islet biology, amyloid, metabolic diseases

🌐 http://ycclab.ca
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
Bri2 BRICHOS domain inhibits cytotoxic IAPP amyloid formation and improves beta cell function in stem cell-derived islets under metabolic stress. #T1D #SC-islets #CellTherapy
link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🔓
Bri2 BRICHOS domain inhibits IAPP amyloid formation and improves beta cell function in stem cell-derived islets under metabolic stress - Diabetologia
Aims/hypothesis Accumulation of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) and amyloid formation is associated with beta cell dysfunction and cell death in human islets and may also contribute to graft failure ...
link.springer.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
New insights into islet ER stress responses, proinsulin biosynthesis, ERAD and ERD1 using β-cell-specific Hrd1-KO mice & rodent (and human islet) β-cells treated acutely with HRD1 inhibitor. jci.org/articles/vie...
@jci.org
November 18, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
🎉Very excited to share our new work on senescence and insulin processing now out in @DiabetologiaJnl link.springer.com/article/10.100…
Fantastic effort by my @dream-diabetes.bsky.social trainees, along with @yichunchen.bsky.social @bruceverchere.bsky.social
@cirtn.bsky.soci
al
https://link.springer.com/article/10.100…
November 14, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Children born to mothers with T1D are less likely to develop T1D than those with an affected father or sibling- linked to changes in DNA methylation at T1D risk genes
November 6, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
The interaction of GLP-1 medicines with the immune system is complex, enabled by direct and indirect actions, including neural inter organ communication. These studies have been led @SinaiHealth by CK Wong. His latest perspective here in the JCI www.jci.org/articles/vie...
November 4, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
JOB ALERT 🚨 We are hiring TWO principal investigators in cell, molecular, systems, or chemical biology in Toronto, Canada at @sinaihealth.bsky.social. We provide a generous startup, fully funded salary and academic appointment at U of Toronto.

www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Please repost!
August 28, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
💫NEW: @buszczaklab.bsky.social @jun-wu-lab.bsky.social & co use human #brain #organoids to dissect patient AIRIM variants associated with neurodevelopmental features. A subset of variants impaired #ribosome production and protein synthesis, and delayed radial glial cell specification.
bit.ly/4lvVBBP
A programmed decline in ribosome levels governs human early neurodevelopment - Nature Cell Biology
Ni, Wei, Vona and colleagues use human brain organoids to dissect patient AIRIM variants associated with neurodevelopmental features. A subset of variants impaired ribosome production and protein synt...
bit.ly
August 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
Amylin and calcitonin differentially affected AMYR subunit assembly and disassembly in a RAMP-specific manner www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Amylin receptor subunit interactions are modulated by agonists and determine signaling
Agonist-dependent interactions between a GPCR and its accessory proteins affect signaling by peptide hormones.
www.science.org
August 19, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
Here Professor Schertzer and colleagues identify that microbial-derived D-lactate contributes to host glucose and lipid metabolism and can be trapped therapeutically to improve metabolic disease during #obesity www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
Gut substrate trap of D-lactate from microbiota improves blood glucose and fatty liver disease in obese mice
D-lactate from the gut microbiota influences blood glucose and fatty liver disease. Trapping D-lactate in the gut improves blood glucose and lowers liver inflammation and fibrosis during obesity.
www.cell.com
July 29, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦 I'm excited to be part of this special topic and thrilled to share our work with the public. Research matters, and we truly appreciate the support from everyone involved, including the government and funding agencies.
Nice to see @yichunchen.bsky.social profiled among other early career researchers in today’s @theglobeandmail.com. As we turn to recruiting international (US) talent, let’s not forget to nurture and support existing talent here.

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/aaa9fec...
Meet Canada’s next generation of researchers
They’re still early in their careers, but making breakthroughs in health and medicine
www.theglobeandmail.com
June 30, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Breakthrough T1D Walk 2025 in Saskatoon 🩵💙🩵
June 14, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
The metabolic syndrome and young-onset dementia, from a nationwide cohort of ~2 million people
www.neurology.org/doi/abs/10.1...
April 29, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
Check out our recent review describing the bidirectional regulation between the ER and mitochondria
www.mdpi.com/3216548
April 3, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
It was a pleasure to co-author this article alongside amazing folks at Carleton. Please check out our EDI resources!

Tools for transformation: a teaching toolkit and research pocket guide for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in science and engineering www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/...
Tools for transformation: a teaching toolkit and research pocket guide for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in science and engineering
Advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in scientific fields is an outstanding challenge. While there is growing awareness of barriers and challenges to EDI across science, technology, engine...
www.facetsjournal.com
March 20, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
More data highlighting insulin mRNA decay and the extent of ER stress in beta cells linked to the pathophysiology of #T1D #genetics @cellcellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Genetic protection from type 1 diabetes resulting from accelerated insulin mRNA decay
Insulin gene variation predisposes individuals to type 1 diabetes (T1D). We report a new mechanism of genetic protection from T1D in which insulin mRNA with a protective SNP is broken down by IRE1α, t...
www.cell.com
March 20, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
Excited to share our publication in @cp-iscience.bsky.social
Islet single-cell transcriptomic profiling during obesity-induced beta cell expansion in female mice #IMM @uthealthhouston.bsky.social @bcmhouston.bsky.social 🧵 www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Islet single-cell transcriptomic profiling during obesity-induced beta cell expansion in female mice
Targeting beta cell proliferation is an appealing approach to restore glucose control in type 1 diabetes. However, the underlying mechanisms of beta cell proliferation remain incompletely understood, ...
www.cell.com
February 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
WCVM is hiring a TT assistant/associate professor: wcvm.usask.ca/departments/... (Saskatoon is beautiful- even in the winter☺️)
Assistant or Associate Professor - Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Tenure track position in physiology, pharmacology and/or toxicology at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine
wcvm.usask.ca
February 11, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC
Up front & free to read in our Jan issue #editorspicks: Targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome–IL-1β pathway in type 2 diabetes and obesity tinyurl.com/bdf9ec33
Targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome–IL-1β pathway in type 2 diabetes and obesity - Diabetologia
Increased activity of the NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome–IL-1β pathway is observed in obesity and contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes and its compli...
tinyurl.com
January 7, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Saying goodbye to Vancouver 🥺
November 28, 2024 at 11:12 PM
Reposted by Yi-Chun Chen/YCC

How to write a grant?
1. The application is for the reviewer, not you, the applicant.
2. Communicate in stories.
3. Make your story cohesive—leave no puzzling gaps.
4. Make your story resonate to keep the reviewer reading.
5. Accept chance and noise in peer-review.
www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10....
November 24, 2024 at 3:38 PM