Ding Xu, PhD
Associate Professor

Dr. Xu has been studying heparan sulfate his whole scientific career. He was highly fortunate to be mentored by two leading experts in heparan sulfate biology. With Dr. Jian Liu at UNC Chapel Hill, he studied biosynthetic enzymes of heparan sulfate and became an expert in HS structure, HS biosynthesis, protein expression and purification, and structural biology. With Dr. Jeff Esko at UCSD, he studied the physiological roles of heparan sulfate in vascular biology, inflammation and infection, during which time he became an expert in cell biology and animal models of human diseases. In 2014, Dr. Xu moved to the University at Buffalo to established his own lab with a new direction to study the role of HS in bone remodeling. Benefitted from his diverse training background, the type of study his lab is conducting is highly multidisciplinary, often spans structural biology, biochemistry, cell biology, genetically modified murine models and development of therapeutics.
Education
1995 - 1999
Central China Normal University
BS in Biochemistry
2002 - 2006
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Pharmacy
PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences
2007 - 2011
University of California, San Diego
Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
School of Medicine
Postdoctoral fellow
2011 - 2014
University of California, San Diego
Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
School of Medicine
Staff Scientist
2014 - 2019
University at Buffalo, SUNY
Department of Oral Biology
School of Dental Medicine
Assistant professor
Email:
Tel: 716-829-3509
Education
Miaomiao Li, PhD
Research Scientist
2005 - 2009
Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
BS in Pharmacy
2009 - 2015
Ocean University of China
School of Pharmacy
PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Projects:
HS–OPG interactions in osteoclastogenesis
HS–RAGE interactions in inflammation and bone remodeling
2015 - 2020
University at Buffalo
Department of Oral Biology
Postdoctoral Scholar
Email:

Xiaoxiao Zhang
PhD student (2016)

Projects:
Role of HS in regulating osteoclast activity
Structural characterization of novel HS-binding proteins
Education
2006 - 2012
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
School of Medicine &Stomatology
BS in Stomatology
2012 - 2014
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
School of Medicine &Stomatology
MS in Oral and Maxillofacial Implantology
2014 - 2016
Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital
Dental resident
Email:
Chih-Yean Ong
PhD student (2018)
Education
2009 - 2013
International Medical University, Malaysia
BS in Pharmaceutical Chemistry
2013 - 2018
Quality control management in various pharmaceutical companies in Malaysia and Singapore.
Projects:
Role of HS in regulating osteoblast differentiation
Development of anti-RAGE mAb
Email:

Yin Luo
PhD student (2019)
Education

Projects:
Role of HS in regulating osteoblast activity
Role of HS in regulating osteoclast activity
2011 - 2016
Central South University
Xiangya School of Stomatology
BS in Stomatology
2016 - 2019
Central South University
Xiangya School of Stomatology
MS in Endodontics
Email: