Academic Staff

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PolyU Scholars Hub

Dr Sharon Y. C. RUAN

Associate Professor

Explores roles of ion channels in human health and diseases

PolyU Scholars Hub

ORCID ID

SCOPUS ID

Biography

Dr Sharon (YC) Ruan received her Ph.D. degree from Sun Yat-Sen University in 2009, and afterwards went for postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital (USA) for 4 years. In 2013, she was recruited as a Research Assistant Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2017, Dr Ruan was appointed as Assistant Professor in Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at PolyU. In May 2022, Dr Ruan was promoted as Associate Professor.

Dr Ruan’s research has focused on ion channels, a group of membrane proteins, and their related signaling transduction in reproduction, endocrinology, development and associated human diseases. Her work has yielded important findings including identifying novel roles of ion channels and their related signaling pathways in embryo implantation (published in Nature Medicine 2012; Theranostics 2019), labour (EMBO Molecular Medicine 2018), and endocrine/metabolic diseases (Nature Communications 2014). In recent years, she has extended the research into new roles of ion channels in musculoskeletal physiology and diseases, and made major breakthroughs in understanding the osteogenic effect of orthopaedic implant-derived magnesium ion (Nature Medicine 2016) as well as ion channel-associated bone disease (Bioactive Materials 2022).

Dr Ruan has won a couple of major awards such as “National Science and Technology Award in Women and Children’s Health” and successfully obtained funding support from General Program (PI, 2015-2018; PI, 2021-2024) by National Natural Sciences Foundation of China; General Research Fund (PI, 2014-2018; PI,2023-2025), Early Career Scheme (PI, 2017-2021), Theme-based Research Scheme (Co-PI, 2017-2022), Area of Excellence (Co-PI, 2021-2029) by Research Grants Council of Hong Kong; and Health and Medical Research Fund (PI, 2017-2020; PI, 2022-2023) by Food and Health Bureau of Hong Kong.

Currently, Dr Ruan aims to continue her research on ion channels with a particular interest in developing ion channels into molecular targets in the diagnosis/treatment of reproductive, endocrine and musculoskeletal diseases.

Research Interests

Academic and Professional Experience

Postdoc Fellow, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, USA, 2009-2013
Research Assistant Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013-2017

Research Outputs

Wuchu, F., Ma, X., Que, Y., Chen, J. & Ruan, Y. C. Biphasic regulation of CFTR expression by ENaC in epithelial cells: The involvement of Ca2+-modulated cAMP production. Front. Cell Dev. Biol., 30 August 2022, doi:10.3389/fcell.2022.781762 (2022).
Xu, J., Hu, P., Zhang, X., Chen, J., Wang, J., Zhang, J., Chen, Z., Yu, M. K., Chung, Y. W., Wang, Y., Zhang, X., Zhang, Y., Zheng, N., Yao, H., Yue, J., Chan, H. C., Qin, L. & Ruan, Y. C. Magnesium implantation or supplementation ameliorates bone disorder in CFTR-mutant mice through an ATF4-dependent Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. Bioact Mater 8, 95-108, doi:10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.06.034 (2022).
Chen, J. J., Xiao, Z. J., Meng, X., Wang, Y., Yu, M. K., Huang, W. Q., Sun, X., Chen, H., Duan, Y. G., Jiang, X., Wong, M. P., Chan, H. C., Zou, F. & Ruan, Y. C. MRP4 sustains Wnt/beta-catenin signaling for pregnancy, endometriosis and endometrial cancer. Theranostics 9, 5049-5064, doi:10.7150/thno.32097 (2019).
Sun, X., Guo, J. H., Zhang, D., Chen, J. J., Lin, W. Y., Huang, Y., Chen, H., Huang, W. Q., Liu, Y., Tsang, L. L., Yu, M. K., Chung, Y. W., Jiang, X., Huang, H., Chan, H. C. & Ruan, Y. C. Activation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) leads to cytokine profile shift to pro-inflammatory in labor. EMBO Mol Med 10, doi:10.15252/emmm.201808868 (2018).
Zhang, Y., Xu, J., Ruan, Y. C., Yu, M. K., O'Laughlin, M., Wise, H., Chen, D., Tian, L., Shi, D., Wang, J., Chen, S., Feng, J. Q., Chow, D. H., Xie, X., Zheng, L., Huang, L., Huang, S., Leung, K., Lu, N., Zhao, L., Li, H., Zhao, D., Guo, X., Chan, K., Witte, F., Chan, H. C., Zheng, Y. & Qin, L. Implant-derived magnesium induces local neuronal production of CGRP to improve bone-fracture healing in rats. Nat Med 22, 1160-1169, doi:10.1038/nm.4162 (2016).
Ruan, Y. C., Wang, Y., Da Silva, N., Kim, B., Diao, R. Y., Hill, E., Brown, D., Chan, H. C. & Breton, S. CFTR interacts with ZO-1 to regulate tight junction assembly and epithelial differentiation through the ZONAB pathway. J Cell Sci 127, 4396-4408, doi:10.1242/jcs.148098 (2014).
Ruan, Y. C., Chen, H. & Chan, H. C. Ion channels in the endometrium: regulation of endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation. Hum Reprod Update 20, 517-529, doi:10.1093/humupd/dmu006 (2014).
Guo, J. H., Chen, H., Ruan, Y. C., Zhang, X. L., Zhang, X. H., Fok, K. L., Tsang, L. L., Yu, M. K., Huang, W. Q., Sun, X., Chung, Y. W., Jiang, X., Sohma, Y. & Chan, H. C. Glucose-induced electrical activities and insulin secretion in pancreatic islet beta-cells are modulated by CFTR. Nat Commun 5, 4420, doi:10.1038/ncomms5420 (2014).
Ruan, Y. C., Guo, J. H., Liu, X., Zhang, R., Tsang, L. L., Dong, J. D., Chen, H., Yu, M. K., Jiang, X., Zhang, X. H., Fok, K. L., Chung, Y. W., Huang, H., Zhou, W. L. & Chan, H. C. Activation of the epithelial Na+ channel triggers prostaglandin E(2) release and production required for embryo implantation. Nat Med 18, 1112-1117, doi:10.1038/nm.2771 (2012).

2023-2025 General Research Fund by Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, HK$ 1,140,288, Hong Kong. PI.
2022-2023 Health and Medical Research Fund by Food and Health Bureau of Hong Kong HK$1,220,000, Hong Kong. PI.
2021-2029 Area of Excellence by Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, HK$70 million (Total), Hong Kong. Co-PI.
2021-2024 General Program by National Natural Sciences Foundation of China, RMB$550,000, China. PI.
2018-2020 Health and Medical Research Fund by Food and Health Bureau of Hong Kong HK$1,199,380, Hong Kong. PI.
2017-2020 Early Career Scheme by Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, HK$1,227,859, PI.
2017-2022 Theme Based Research Scheme by Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, HK$33.333 million (Total), Hong Kong. Co-PI.
2017-2020 Start-up fund by the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, HK$500,000, PI.
2017-2018 Large Equipment Fund by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HK$1,598,291, Hong Kong. PI.
2015-2018 General Program by National Natural Sciences Foundation of China, RMB$740,000, China. PI.
2014-2017 General Research Fund by Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, HK$ 572,258, Hong Kong. PI.
2014-2015 Direct Grant by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, HK$80,000, Hong Kong. PI.
2013-2014 Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Therapy Program by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, HK$250,000, Hong Kong. PI.
2012-2017 National Major Basic Research Program (Special 973 funding program) by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, RMB$25,880,000 (Total), China. Subproject Co-I.
2011-2012 Postdoctoral Fellowship by Lalor Foundation, US$35,000, USA. PI.
2010-2011 Postdoctoral Fellowship by Lalor Foundation, US$35,000, USA. PI.

Associate editor for Frontiers in Physiology (Reproduction section, since 2019), Frontiers in Endocrinology (Reproduction section, since 2019).
Reviewer for Human Reproduction, Molecular Human Reproduction, Cancer Cell International, Scientific Reports, Ebiomedicine.

Reviewer, National Natural Science Foundation of China (2015, 2017 & 2020).