Dr Yung-Yao Lin, PhD, FHEA

Profile

Dr Yung-Yao Lin got his BSc from National Taiwan University and did his PhD in the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge.

His most important research contributions to date are elucidating pathological mechanisms of previously unexplained neuromuscular disorders and developing disease models that can facilitate therapeutic development. His postdoctoral work at Wellcome Sanger Institute brought novel insights into the pathological mechanisms underlying a group of neuromuscular disorders, referred to as dystroglycanopathies and contributed to the complete elucidation of a novel pathway of laminin-binding glycan on α-dystroglycan.

At the Blizard Institute, the Lin group have been developing human-relevant microphysiological models that can elucidate pathological mechanisms and facilitate therapeutic innovation. With expertise in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), CRISPR-mediated genome engineering and bioengineering technologies, the Lin group generated isogenic pairs of hPSC-based microphysiological systems for modelling neuromuscular disorders and skeletal muscle regeneration, as well as testing potential drug candidates. The isogenic pairs of patient-derived and CRISPR-corrected hPSC lines in the Lin laboratory provide an invaluable resource for many research projects. Dr Lin has obtained substantial research funding (>£2M) from industry, patient charities and the NC3Rs to exploit human-relevant microphysiological systems for disease modelling, drug discovery and regenerative medicine. Recently, the Lin group developed a novel hydrogel-based transplantation procedure that improves animal welfare (3Rs impact - Refinement) and enables long-term engraftment of human myogenic cells.

Teaching

MSc Regenerative Medicine

PBL

Research

Research Interests:

Research in the Lin group is primarily focused on neuromuscular disorders and mechanisms regulating muscle regeneration. The Lin group has established essential expertise in generation and differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and CRISPR-mediated genome manipulation technology. We are interested in integrating human iPSC and Organ-on-a-Chip technologies to enable neuromuscular research in health and disease, as well as drug discovery.

Publications

Key Publications

Harley P, Paredes-Redondo A, Grenci G, Viasnoff V, Lin YY*, Lieberam I*. (2023) 3D compartmentalised human pluripotent stem cell–derived neuromuscular cocultures. Bio Protoc 13(5): e4624.

Paredes-Redondo A, Harley P, Maniati E, Ryan D, Louzada S, Meng J, Kowala A, Fu B et al. Lin YY. (2021) Optogenetic modeling of human neuromuscular circuits in Duchenne muscular dystrophy with CRISPR and pharmacological corrections. Sci Adv 7: eabi8787. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abi8787

Kim J, Lana B, Torelli S, Ryan D, Catapano F, Ala P, Luft C, Stevens E, Konstantinidis E, Louzada S, et al., Lin YY. (2019) A new patient-derived iPSC model for dystroglycanopathies validates a compound that increases glycosylation of α-dystroglycan. EMBO Rep 20: e47967.

Paredes‐Redondo A, Lin YY. (2019) Human induced pluripotent stem cells: challenges and opportunities in developing new therapies for muscular dystrophies. In eLS, pp. 1–10, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester. DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0028371

Praissman JL, Willer T, Osman Sheikh M, Toi A, Chitayat D, Lin YY, Lee H, Stalnaker SH, Wang S, Prabhakar PK, et al. (2016) The functional O-mannose glycan on α-dystroglycan contains a phospho-ribitol primed for matriglycan addition. Elife 5: 1–28.

Roscioli T, Kamsteeg EJ, Buysse K, Maystadt I, Van Reeuwijk J, Van Den Elzen C, Van Beusekom E, Riemersma M, Pfundt R, Vissers LELM, et al. Lin YY*, van Bokhoven H*. (2012) Mutations in ISPD cause Walker-Warburg syndrome and defective glycosylation of α-dystroglycan. Nat Genet 44: 581–585. (*Senior corresponding authors)

All Publications

Supervision

Current PhD students

• Natalia Andrea Moreno Sierra (NC3Rs PhD studentship)
• Fatma Coban Adanur (Turkish Ministry of National Education Scholarship)
• Alexandra Broughton (MRC ITTP PhD studentship)

Former PhD students

• Amaia Paredes-Redondo (QMUL-Blizard PhD studentship)
• Anna Kowala (QMUL-LSI PhD studentship)