Xianlin Han

Biography

Xianlin Han, M.S., Ph.D., received his M.S. degree in Physical Chemistry at Zhejiang University, China, and his Ph.D. in Biophysical and Bioanalytical Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to joining Sanford-Burnham, Dr. Han was an Associate Professor of Medicine, a faculty member at the Center for Cardiovascular Research in the Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, a faculty member of the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, and serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Han is particularly interested in identifying the biochemical mechanism(s) underlying the altered lipid metabolism, trafficking, and homeostasis under patho(physio)logical conditions by using a lipidomics approach. Dr. Han is one of the pioneers in lipidomics.

Research Interest

The interests of Dr. Han’s laboratory have been focused on the altered lipid metabolism, trafficking and homeostasis under patho(physio)logical conditions. Currently, there are three specific areas explored in his laboratory: (1) extension of the shotgun lipidomics technology for increased penetrance into the low abundance regime of a cellular lipidome with emphasis on high throughput, and bioinformatics; (2) investigation of the biochemical mechanisms underlying the altered lipid content and composition in metabolic syndrome; and (3) identification of the biochemical mechanisms responsible for the sulfatide depletion and ceramide elevation at the very earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease.