Research
Genetic variations directly change enzymes’ activities and functions, or transcription factor regulation, which results in the alteration of the identities and quantities of both intracellular and extracellular metabolites. Therefore, the genetic background can be a causal factor for metabolic reprogramming. My research focus is to identify alterations in metabolism-related genes (metabogenomics) and characterize how these alterations result in specific metabolomic molecular phenotypes, which then inform cancer phenotypes and patient outcomes.
Biography
Dr. Ying Ni is an investigator with a broad background in molecular genetics, genomics, and bioengineering, with specific training and expertise in translational clinical research design, bioinformatics analysis, and functional validation. She specializes in cancer metabolomics, the large-scale study of small molecules, which serves as a quantitative cellular phenotype that provides critical information about cancer states. In her lab, Dr. Ni takes on the challenge of decoding the metabolic heterogeneity of cancer cells using a multi-faceted approach, with a particular focus on inherited genetic predisposition.
Appointed to the Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Immuno-Oncology (CITI) in 2021, Dr. Ni’s lab focuses on computational multi-omics research that covers areas such as genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics in cancer. Dr. Ni also collaborates with the Taussig Cancer Institute (TCI) and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, where she supports the management of an enterprise-wide cancer genomics data warehouse that incorporates standard of care clinical genomic testing. Working closely with members of the CITI Computational Immunology Platform, Dr. Ni also plays a critical role in developing the Cleveland Clinic instance of cBioPortal - a searchable, minable portal for genomics, transcriptomics, and high-dimensional datasets with patient clinical outcomes. This cross-institutional resource is being developed for addressing both clinical and translational research questions.
Dr. Ni obtained her MS in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, after which she earned her PhD in molecular medicine from Case Western University. Remaining in Cleveland, she then completed a joint postdoctoral fellowship at both the Cleveland Clinic Genomic Medicine Institute and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, establishing her extensive and unique background in both molecular genetics/genomics and bioinformatics.
Education & Professional Highlights
Appointed2021
Education & Fellowships
Postdoctoral Fellowship - Cleveland Clinic, Genomic Medicine InstituteCleveland, OH USA2013
Graduate - Case Western Reserve UniversityMolecular MedicineCleveland, OH USA2012
Graduate - University of Illinois at ChicagoElectrical EngineeringChicago, IL USA2003
Undergraduate - Communication University of ChinaElectrical EngineeringBeijing, China2000
Awards & Honors
- Doctoral Excellence Award, Case Western Reserve University
- Women in Cancer Research Scholar Award, American Association of Cancer Research
- Outstanding Translational Research, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM)
- AAAS/Excellence in Science Program, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Memberships
- International Society for Computational Biology2015-present
- American Association of Cancer Research2012-present
- American Society of Human Genetics2009-present
- The American Association for the Advancement of Science2008-present