Dongshan Yang

Biomedical Engineer and Research Assistant Professor specializing in advanced large-animal genetic engineering, precision genome editing, and preclinical translational medicine. As a specialist in bridging the bench-to-clinic gap, I focus on overcoming rodent model limitations by establishing high-fidelity animal systems to accelerate next-generation gene and cell therapies. I have pioneered over 50 transgenic, knock-out, and knock-in large-animal models (swine and rabbits) mirroring human cardiovascular, pulmonary, and hereditary blinding diseases. My independent research program is backed by an extensive publication record in top-tier journals (Cell Research, Nature Communications, Scientific Reports, TVST) and is sustained by a robust funding portfolio. I also actively serve the broader scientific community as an Editorial Board Member for Transgenic Research.

A major hurdle in developing novel therapeutics, including cutting-edge gene and cell therapies, is the lack of appropriate animal models for translational validation. While mouse models excel at dissecting molecular mechanisms, they rarely mimic human clinical phenotypes or anatomical scales. The overall goal of my research program is to overcome this bottleneck by innovating large-animal genetic engineering platforms, modeling complex human diseases in large animals, and directly developing and testing novel gene and cell therapies within these high-fidelity models.