Dr. Yingying Hu received her Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Peking University and previously worked at BGI-Research. She then pursued further research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, serving successively as a Visiting Scholar and Senior Research Associate. She has long been dedicated to interdisciplinary research in developmental biology and pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). In August 2026, Dr. Hu joined the Institute of Stem Cell, Aging and Reproduction (iSTAR) at the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) as a Junior Principal Investigator (Junior PI).

Dr. Hu's research is centrally focused on the quality control mechanisms and cell homeostasis during early embryonic development. She played a leading role in establishing a cross-species stem cell competition model to systematically explore the molecular basis of the interspecies barrier. Her pioneering work uncovered the core surveillance function of innate immune pathways, such as RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs), in mediating interspecies cell competition. This work provides novel theoretical foundation and intervention strategies for improving interspecies chimerism and humanized organ generation. Furthermore, during her doctoral studies, Dr. Hu utilized zebrafish as a model to dissect the cell fate determination mechanisms in liver lineage development, establishing a mature technical platform for in vivo lineage tracing and high-resolution imaging. Dr. Hu's representative works have been published in top-tier academic journals such as Cell and Nature as first author and co-first author, and she holds one granted U.S. invention patent.

Research Directions

The Hu Lab is dedicated to deciphering the competitive dynamics between normal and abnormal cells during early embryonic and tissue development. Utilizing human pluripotent stem cells, zebrafish, and mice as core models, and integrating super-resolution imaging with single-cell multi-omics technologies, the lab focuses on exploring the fundamental mechanisms by which abnormal cells are recognized and precisely eliminated by the innate immune network. Looking forward, addressing major reproductive challenges such as embryo implantation failure caused by aneuploidy in clinical in vitro fertilization (IVF), the lab will construct a multi-dimensional research framework spanning molecular communication, physical mechanics, and physiological tolerance. The ultimate goal is to provide new theoretical explanations and potential intervention targets for clinical reproductive health.

The primary research directions of the laboratory include:

1.Molecular recognition and communication networks in cell competition: Investigating how innate immune sensors in the local microenvironment precisely recognize stress signals from abnormal (e.g., aneuploid) cells to decode the communication mechanisms of cell elimination.

2.Physical execution and spatiotemporal dynamics of cell competition: Utilizing super-resolution imaging to resolve the fine structure and dynamic laws of physical cell elimination processes, such as "mechanical extrusion" in situ.

3.In vivo tolerance thresholds for early embryo quality control: Comparing embryonic developmental potential across different host immune environments to explore the dynamic physiological thresholds for embryonic tolerance to aneuploid cells.

4.Development and application of cross-scale super-resolution imaging: Continuously optimizing cutting-edge imaging systems like TissUExM to bridge the technical gap between macroscopic in vivo tracing and microscopic subcellular structural analysis.

Selected Publications

1. Hu Y^# , Sun HX^# , Sakurai M^# , Luo Z, Jones AE, Cheng T, Huang J, Liu L, Zheng C, Li J, Lu Y, Ravaux B, He B, Ding Y, Liu T, Wu Y, Chen ZJ, Abrams JM, Chen EH, Gu Y, Wu J. RNA Sensing and Innate Immunity Constitutes a Barrier for Interspecies Chimerism. Cell. 2026 January; 189, 23-33.e16. 

2. Zheng C^# , Hu Y^# , Sakurai M^# , Pinzon-Arteaga CA, Li J, Wei Y, Okamura D, Ravaux B, Barlow HR, Yu L, Sun HX, Chen EH, Gu Y, Wu J. Cell competition constitutes a barrier for interspecies chimerism. Nature. 2021 Apr;592(7853):272-276. 

3. Hu Y^# , Luo Z^# , Wang M^# , Wu Z, Liu Y, Cheng Z, Sun Y, Xiong JW, Tong X, Zhu Z, Zhang B. Prox1a promotes liver growth and differentiation by repressing cdx1b expression and intestinal fate transition in zebrafish. Journal of Genetics and Genomics. 2025 January; 52, 66-77. 

4. He B^# , Lv S^# , Li L, Zhang L, Hu Y, Okamura D, Huang J, and Wu J. Mitigating xenogeneic barriers to chimerism through Cas13-induced host attenuation. Developmental Cell. 2026 March; 61, 676-686.e675. 

5. Liu T^# , Li J^# , Yu L^# , Sun HX, Li J, Dong G, Hu Y, Li Y, Shen Y, Wu J, Gu Y. Cross-species single-cell transcriptomic analysis reveals pre-gastrulation developmental differences among pigs, monkeys, and humans. Cell Discovery. 2021 Feb 2;7(1):8. 

6. Xiao A^# , Wang Z^# , Hu Y, Wu Y, Luo Z, Yang Z, Zu Y, Li W, Huang P, Tong X, Zhu Z, Lin S, Zhang B. Chromosomal deletions and inversions mediated by TALENs and CRISPR/Cas in zebrafish. Nucleic Acids Research. 2013 Aug;41(14):e141. 

7. Xiao A, Wu Y, Yang Z, Hu Y, Wang W, Zhang Y, Kong L, Gao G, Zhu Z, Lin S, Zhang B. EENdb: a database and knowledge base of ZFNs and TALENs for endonuclease engineering. Nucleic Acids Research. 2013 Jan;41(Database issue):D415-22.