Yarui Diao | Scholars@Duke

Yarui Diao
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

I lead a functional genomics lab and my lab’s research is mainly focused on two areas: 1) developing new functional genomics tools to study genome structure and function; 2) using skeletal muscle regeneration and muscle stem cell as our model system to study gene regulation of tissue regeneration in health and diseases conditions, such as injury, muscular dystrophy, aging, and rhabdomyosarcoma. My research has been supported by Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), V Foundation for Cancer Research, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, Kahn program and Translating Duke Health, Glenn Foundation and American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), Elsa. U Pardee foundation, Cancer Moonshot℠ Research Initiatives and NIH.

Current Research Interests

1. Gene regulation of muscle regeneration.
2. Genomics technology development.
3. Genetic and epigenetic control of rhabdomyosarcoma.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Cell Biology, Basic Science Departments 2018
Assistant Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Clinical Science Departments 2018
Assistant Professor in Pathology, Pathology, Clinical Science Departments 2021
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers 2018
Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center, Regeneration Next Initiative, Basic Science Departments 2021

Contact Information

349 Nanaline Duke Building, Durham, NC 27705
yarui.diao@duke.edu (919) 684-8553
Cell Biology Faculty Page
Google Scholar Citations
The Diao lab website

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., University of Hong Kong (China) 2011
Recognition
Awards & Honors
Expertise
Subject Headings
Research
Selected Grants
- Molecular Analysis of Developmental Brain Disorders Associated with Synaptic Pathology awarded by National Institutes of Health 2022 - 2027
- Medical Scientist Training Program awarded by National Institutes of Health 2022 - 2027
- Localization of adenosine to promote fracture healing awarded by National Institutes of Health 2022 - 2027
- Training Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology awarded by National Institutes of Health 2001 - 2027
- Cell and Molecular Biology Training Program awarded by National Institutes of Health 2021 - 2026
- Engineering Human Heart Tissues with Polyploid Cardiomyocytes awarded by National Institutes of Health 2022 - 2026
- The 4D nucleome of muscle regeneration in ischemia-induced tissue damage and repair awarded by National Institutes of Health 2020 - 2025
- Multi-omics functional analysis of non-coding regulatory genome for genomic medicine awarded by National Institutes of Health 2020 - 2025
- Genetic and Genomics Training Grant awarded by National Institutes of Health 2020 - 2025
- Role of the macro lncRNA KCNQ1OT1 in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma tumorigenesis awarded by Kate Amato Foundation Inc. 2019 - 2023
- Targeting CDK8 in fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma awarded by Rally! Foundation 2021 - 2023
- Assessing healthspan in aged mice after prolonged exposure to young circulation awarded by National Institutes of Health 2020 - 2023
- Role of the macro lncRNA KCNQ1OT1 in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma tumorigenesis awarded by Alex's Lemonade Stand 2019 - 2023
- Study of a novel kinase and its targeted inhibitor in Rhabdomyosarcoma awarded by Elsa U. Pardee Foundation 2020 - 2021
- Transcriptional regulatory network that controls fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma tumorigenesis awarded by V Foundation for Cancer Research 2019 - 2021
- Super-resolution Imaging via Multiple Modalities with the Zeiss Elyra 7 awarded by National Institutes of Health 2020 - 2021
- Role of MST/Hippo kinase inactivation in driving fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma awarded by National Institutes of Health 2020 - 2021
- HARDAC-M: Enabling memory-intensive computation for genomics awarded by North Carolina Biotechnology Center 2020 - 2021
- Organization and Function of Cellular Structure awarded by National Institutes of Health 1975 - 2020
- Identification and application of cis-regulatory enhancer elements for muscle stem cell function and muscle regeneration in aging awarded by American Federation for Aging Research 2019 - 2020
Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants
- Functional analysis of Alzheimer’s Disease associated genetic risk variants in astrocytes awarded by Kahn program and Translating Duke Health 2019 - 2020
- Targeted reprogramming of human epigenome using CRISPR/Cas9 system awarded by The Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) 2014 - 2017
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Academic Articles
  - Southerland, Kevin W., Yueyuan Xu, Derek T. Peters, Xiaolin Wei, Xin Lin, Yu Xiang, Kaileen Fei, et al. “Pro-inflammatory macrophages impair skeletal muscle regeneration in ischemic-damaged limbs by inducing precocious differentiation of satellite cells.” Biorxiv, April 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.01.535211.
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  - Xu, Jie, Fan Song, Huijue Lyu, Mikoto Kobayashi, Baozhen Zhang, Ziyu Zhao, Ye Hou, et al. “Subtype-specific 3D genome alteration in acute myeloid leukaemia.” Nature 611, no. 7935 (November 2022): 387–98. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05365-x.
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  - Meng, Zhipeng, Fu-Long Li, Cao Fang, Benjamin Yeoman, Yunjiang Qiu, Ying Wang, Xiaomin Cai, et al. “The Hippo pathway mediates Semaphorin signaling.” Sci Adv 8, no. 21 (May 27, 2022): eabl9806. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abl9806.
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  - Wang, Jason, Torie Broer, Taylor Chavez, Chris J. Zhou, Sabrina Tran, Yu Xiang, Alastair Khodabukus, Yarui Diao, and Nenad Bursac. “Myoblast deactivation within engineered human skeletal muscle creates a transcriptionally heterogeneous population of quiescent satellite-like cells.” Biomaterials 284 (May 2022): 121508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121508.
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  - Wei, Xiaolin, Yu Xiang, Derek T. Peters, Choiselle Marius, Tongyu Sun, Ruocheng Shan, Jianhong Ou, et al. “HiCAR is a robust and sensitive method to analyze open-chromatin-associated genome organization.” Mol Cell 82, no. 6 (March 17, 2022): 1225-1238.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2022.01.023.
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  - Tang, Yuning Jackie, Vijitha Puviindran, Yu Xiang, Yasuhito Yahara, Hongyuan Zhang, Puviindran Nadesan, Yarui Diao, David G. Kirsch, and Benjamin A. Alman. “Tumor-propagating side population cells are a dynamic subpopulation in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma.” Jci Insight 6, no. 22 (November 22, 2021). https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.148768.
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  - Zhu, H., X. Lin, and Y. Diao. “Function and regulation of muscle stem cells in skeletal muscle development and regeneration: a narrative review.” Journal of Bio X Research 4, no. 3 (September 1, 2021): 89–96. https://doi.org/10.1097/JBR.0000000000000105.
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  - Li, Bin, Poshen B. Chen, and Yarui Diao. “CRISPR-SE: a brute force search engine for CRISPR design.” Nar Genom Bioinform 3, no. 1 (March 2021): lqab013. https://doi.org/10.1093/nargab/lqab013.
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  - Fan, Huitao, Jiuwei Lu, Yiran Guo, Dongxu Li, Zhi-Min Zhang, Yi-Hsuan Tsai, Wen-Chieh Pi, et al. “BAHCC1 binds H3K27me3 via a conserved BAH module to mediate gene silencing and oncogenesis.” Nat Genet 52, no. 12 (December 2020): 1384–96. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-020-00729-3.
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  - Yahara, Yasuhito, Tomasa Barrientos, Yuning J. Tang, Vijitha Puviindran, Puviindran Nadesan, Hongyuan Zhang, Jason R. Gibson, et al. “Erythromyeloid progenitors give rise to a population of osteoclasts that contribute to bone homeostasis and repair.” Nat Cell Biol 22, no. 1 (January 2020): 49–59. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-019-0437-8.
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  - Dall’Agnese, Alessandra, Luca Caputo, Chiara Nicoletti, Julia di Iulio, Anthony Schmitt, Sole Gatto, Yarui Diao, et al. “Transcription Factor-Directed Re-wiring of Chromatin Architecture for Somatic Cell Nuclear Reprogramming toward trans-Differentiation.” Mol Cell 76, no. 3 (November 7, 2019): 453-472.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2019.07.036.
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  - Wu, Sihan, Kristen M. Turner, Nam Nguyen, Ramya Raviram, Marcella Erb, Jennifer Santini, Jens Luebeck, et al. “Circular ecDNA promotes accessible chromatin and high oncogene expression.” Nature 575, no. 7784 (November 2019): 699–703. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1763-5.
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  - Jung, Inkyung, Anthony Schmitt, Yarui Diao, Andrew J. Lee, Tristin Liu, Dongchan Yang, Catherine Tan, et al. “A compendium of promoter-centered long-range chromatin interactions in the human genome.” Nat Genet 51, no. 10 (October 2019): 1442–49. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-019-0494-8.
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  - Wisdom, Amy J., Cierra S. Hong, Alexander J. Lin, Yu Xiang, Daniel E. Cooper, Jin Zhang, Eric S. Xu, et al. “Neutrophils promote tumor resistance to radiation therapy.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 116, no. 37 (September 10, 2019): 18584–89. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1901562116.
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  - Gao, Yudong, Erin Hisey, Tyler W. A. Bradshaw, Eda Erata, Walter E. Brown, Jamie L. Courtland, Akiyoshi Uezu, Yu Xiang, Yarui Diao, and Scott H. Soderling. “Plug-and-Play Protein Modification Using Homology-Independent Universal Genome Engineering.” Neuron 103, no. 4 (August 21, 2019): 583-597.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.05.047.
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  - Chowdhry, Sudhir, Ciro Zanca, Utkrisht Rajkumar, Tomoyuki Koga, Yarui Diao, Ramya Raviram, Feng Liu, et al. “NAD metabolic dependency in cancer is shaped by gene amplification and enhancer remodelling.” Nature 569, no. 7757 (May 2019): 570–75. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1150-2.
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  - Meng, Zhipeng, Yunjiang Qiu, Kimberly C. Lin, Aditya Kumar, Jesse K. Placone, Cao Fang, Kuei-Chun Wang, et al. “RAP2 mediates mechanoresponses of the Hippo pathway.” Nature 560, no. 7720 (August 2018): 655–60. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0444-0.
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  - Chen, Xiaofan, Jun Wan, Bo Yu, Yarui Diao, and Wei Zhang. “PIP5K1α promotes myogenic differentiation via AKT activation and calcium release.” Stem Cell Res Ther 9, no. 1 (February 9, 2018): 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-018-0770-z.
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  - Diao, Yarui, Rongxin Fang, Bin Li, Zhipeng Meng, Juntao Yu, Yunjiang Qiu, Kimberly C. Lin, et al. “A tiling-deletion-based genetic screen for cis-regulatory element identification in mammalian cells.” Nat Methods 14, no. 6 (June 2017): 629–35. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.4264.
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  - An, Yitai, Gang Wang, Yarui Diao, Yanyang Long, Xinrong Fu, Mingxi Weng, Liang Zhou, et al. “A Molecular Switch Regulating Cell Fate Choice between Muscle Progenitor Cells and Brown Adipocytes.” Dev Cell 41, no. 4 (May 22, 2017): 382-391.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2017.04.012.
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  - Zhu, Han, Fang Xiao, Gang Wang, Xiuqing Wei, Lei Jiang, Yan Chen, Lin Zhu, et al. “STAT3 Regulates Self-Renewal of Adult Muscle Satellite Cells during Injury-Induced Muscle Regeneration.” Cell Rep 16, no. 8 (August 23, 2016): 2102–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.07.041.
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  - Diao, Yarui, Bin Li, Zhipeng Meng, Inkyung Jung, Ah Young Lee, Jesse Dixon, Lenka Maliskova, Kun-Liang Guan, Yin Shen, and Bing Ren. “A new class of temporarily phenotypic enhancers identified by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genetic screening.” Genome Res 26, no. 3 (March 2016): 397–405. https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.197152.115.
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  - Fan, Chunying, Qi Wu, Xiaoyang Ye, Hongxue Luo, Dongdong Yan, Yi Xiong, Haili Zhu, Yarui Diao, Wei Zhang, and Jun Wan. “Role of miR-211 in Neuronal Differentiation and Viability: Implications to Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease.” Front Aging Neurosci 8 (2016): 166. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00166.
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  - Wang, Yinuo, Xiaosu Zhao, Xiaoyang Ye, Hongxue Luo, Tongfeng Zhao, Yarui Diao, Hongyu Zhang, et al. “Plasma microRNA-586 is a new biomarker for acute graft-versus-host disease.” Ann Hematol 94, no. 9 (September 2015): 1505–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-015-2414-z.
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  - Dixon, Jesse R., Inkyung Jung, Siddarth Selvaraj, Yin Shen, Jessica E. Antosiewicz-Bourget, Ah Young Lee, Zhen Ye, et al. “Chromatin architecture reorganization during stem cell differentiation.” Nature 518, no. 7539 (February 19, 2015): 331–36. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14222.
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  - Ye, Xiaoyang, Hongxue Luo, Yan Chen, Qi Wu, Yi Xiong, Jinyong Zhu, Yarui Diao, Zhenguo Wu, Jianting Miao, and Jun Wan. “MicroRNAs 99b-5p/100-5p Regulated by Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress are Involved in Abeta-Induced Pathologies.” Front Aging Neurosci 7 (2015): 210. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2015.00210.
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  - Diao, Yarui, Xing Guo, Lei Jiang, Gang Wang, Chao Zhang, Jun Wan, Yan Jin, and Zhenguo Wu. “miR-203, a tumor suppressor frequently down-regulated by promoter hypermethylation in rhabdomyosarcoma.” J Biol Chem 289, no. 1 (January 3, 2014): 529–39. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M113.494716.
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  - Luo, Hongxue, Qi Wu, Xiaoyang Ye, Yi Xiong, Jinyong Zhu, Junyu Xu, Yarui Diao, et al. “Genome-wide analysis of miRNA signature in the APPswe/PS1ΔE9 mouse model of alzheimer's disease.” Plos One 9, no. 8 (2014): e101725. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101725.
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  - Diao, Yarui, Xing Guo, Yanfeng Li, Kun Sun, Leina Lu, Lei Jiang, Xinrong Fu, et al. “Pax3/7BP is a Pax7- and Pax3-binding protein that regulates the proliferation of muscle precursor cells by an epigenetic mechanism.” Cell Stem Cell 11, no. 2 (August 3, 2012): 231–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2012.05.022.
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  - Diao, Yarui, Wei Liu, Catherine C. L. Wong, Xi Wang, Kaman Lee, Po-yan Cheung, Lifeng Pan, et al. “Oxidation-induced intramolecular disulfide bond inactivates mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 6 by inhibiting ATP binding.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107, no. 49 (December 7, 2010): 20974–79. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1007225107.
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  - Diao, Yarui, Xi Wang, and Zhenguo Wu. “SOCS1, SOCS3, and PIAS1 promote myogenic differentiation by inhibiting the leukemia inhibitory factor-induced JAK1/STAT1/STAT3 pathway.” Mol Cell Biol 29, no. 18 (September 2009): 5084–93. https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.00267-09.
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- Conference Papers
  - Olivere, Lindsey, Yu Xiang, James Otto, Brian F. Gilmore, Timothy McCord, Christopher Kontos, Yarui Diao, and Kevin Southerland. “Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis Identifies Differences in Skeletal Muscle Macrophages in a Human Critical Limb Ischemia Patient and a Murine Model of Hindlimb Ischemia.” In Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, Vol. 40, 2020.
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Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Awards & Honors

Subject Headings

Selected Grants

Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants

Selected Publications

Academic Articles

Conference Papers

Recent Courses