Rate My Professor Yipeng Sui

Yipeng Sui, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He earned a B.S. in 2004 from Shaanxi Normal University, China, and a Ph.D. in 2009 from Shandong University, China, where his dissertation examined classical insect hormones and their influences on expression profiles of proteases and lipases in the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera. Sui's research investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying human cardiovascular diseases, obesity-related metabolic disorders, and hyperlipidemia, focusing on the adverse effects of environmental chemicals on cardiometabolic health. His laboratory employs cellular and molecular biology techniques and experimental mouse models to study these processes, incorporating undergraduate students through Undergraduate Research Fellowship (URF) and Nebraska INBRE programs.

Sui has produced over 20 peer-reviewed publications highlighting the roles of nuclear receptors such as Pregnane X Receptor (PXR) in lipid homeostasis, atherosclerosis, and xenobiotic metabolism. Key contributions include first-author papers: "Cannabidiol promotes intestinal cholesterol uptake mediated by Pregnane X receptor" (Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2024); "Effects of dicyclohexyl phthalate exposure on PXR activation and lipid homeostasis in mice" (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2021); "Myeloid-specific deficiency of pregnane X receptor decreases atherosclerosis in LDL receptor-deficient mice" (Journal of Lipid Research, 2020); "Perinatal bisphenol A exposure increases atherosclerosis in adult male PXR-humanized mice" (Endocrinology, 2018); and "Deficiency of PXR decreases atherosclerosis in apoE deficient mice" (Journal of Lipid Research, 2011). Earlier works addressed IKKβ in vascular inflammation, obesity, and stem cell differentiation. His research at the University of Kentucky contributed significantly to these areas. Awards include the Nebraska INBRE Developmental Research Project Program (DRPP) award (2023) and the American Heart Association Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB) Travel Award (2015). Sui engages in outreach through Science Café talks on environmental chemicals' health impacts, teaches genetics in UNK MCAT/DAT/OAT prep courses, serves on the INSPIRE Core Advisory Board, and acts as Faculty Councilor for the Microscopy Society of the Plains States. He is a member of the American Heart Association.