Damon Runyon Researchers

Ammonia is a central metabolite in the cellular nitrogen cycle. Recent studies suggest that both glutamine synthesis and the urea cycle pathways are involved in liver cancer development. Clinical data also indicate a strong correlation between defective ammonia clearance and liver cancer. Despite its importance, chemical tools that allow researchers to monitor ammonia selectively remain challenging due to the chemoselectivity between ammonia and all other amines. Dr. Cheng aims to develop an activity-based fluorescent probe that can selectively detect ammonia. With the probe, he will study the hypothesis that defective ammonia clearance is a risk factor and plays a major role in liver cancer development. Dr. Yang received his PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and his BS from Nankai University, Tianjin.