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Support Our Research

Cells constantly face stress and damage. When their protective systems fail or become overactive, they can contribute to serious human diseases. The Yang Lab studies these cellular defense mechanisms and uses what we learn to identify new ways to treat disease.

Our research focuses on cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and disorders associated with aging. A major focus of our work is understanding how cells respond when mitochondria, the structures responsible for producing much of the cell’s energy, become damaged or dysfunctional.

We combine cryo-electron microscopy, biochemistry, cell biology, artificial intelligence (AI), computational protein design, and drug discovery to understand these processes at the molecular level. These technologies allow us to see important biological molecules in extraordinary detail and determine how their activities change during disease.

Importantly, we use these discoveries to develop new therapeutic strategies. We design proteins and discover small molecules that can precisely control cellular stress pathways, with the goal of developing new treatments for cancer, including leukemia and brain tumors; heart disease associated with mitochondrial dysfunction; and neurodegenerative diseases involving mitochondrial damage and neuronal loss.

Philanthropic support allows us to pursue promising ideas at their earliest stages, develop and test potential new therapies, adopt emerging technologies such as AI, and accelerate discoveries from fundamental biology toward treatments for human disease.

Interested in Supporting Our Research?

If you are interested in supporting the Yang Lab or learning more about our research, please contact Dr. Jie Yang at wfw7nc@virginia.edu.

We would be happy to discuss our research and how philanthropic support can help advance new discoveries and therapeutic development.