Jia Sun

Personal profile:

Jia Sun is a professor and PhD supervisor at the School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University. Jia Sun is a recipient of the National Excellent Youth Fund, National Overseas High-level Talent, Distinguished Youth of Jiangsu Province, and High-level Talent of Jiangsu Province. Additionally, Jia Sun serves as an associate editor for the Front Immunol and Front Nutr, a youth communication expert for Engineering published by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a youth editorial board members for Acta Pharm Sin B, and an editorial board member for Mol Nutr Food Res.Furthermore, Jia Sun is a member of the Anti-inflammatory and Immunopharmacology Committee of the Chinese Pharmacological Society, a member of the Nutritional Medicine Committee of Chinese Research Hospital Association, a member of the Food Allergy Group of the Chinese Research Hospital Association, a member of the Anti-inflammatory and Immunopharmacology Committee of the Jiangsu Pharmacological Society, and a standing committee member of the Youth Working Committee of the Jiangsu Immunology Society.

Jia Sun has undertaken several projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, including the Excellent Youth Fund, Major Research Plan (Incubation), and General Projects. Additionally, Jia Sun has undertaken research projects and talent Projects at the provincial and ministerial levels, such as the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Project of Jiangsu Province. Moreover, Jia Sun has also served as the Chinese principal investigator for China-New Zealand Exchange Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as the High-end Foreign Expert Project of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

Jia Sun has published first-authored or corresponding SCI papers in prominent journals such as Immunity (Cover story), Gastroenterology, EMBO Mol Med (Cover story), Cardiovasc Res, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Allergy, Br J Pharmacol, Theranostics, BMC Med, FASEB J, Acta Pharmacol Sin B, Acta Pharmacol Sin (Cover story), and Mol Nutr Food Res. Furthermore, Jia Sun has edited and published one e-book in Front Immunol.

One of Jia Sun' s notable research findings involves discovering the new role and mechanism of butyrate, a metabolite of gut microbiota, in promoting the expression of antimicrobial peptide CRAMP in pancreatic β cells and maintaining pancreatic immune homeostasis and endocrine health. This discovery elucidates the mechanism by which the gut microbiota regulates pancreatic immunity through the gut pancreatic axis. Additionally, Jia Sun has conducted systematic analyses on dietary components that promote gut microbiota and pancreatic immune health, such as Clostridium butyricum and structure-specific prebiotics.

Jia Sun's work has been positively cited and evaluated by prestigious international journals such as Nature, Nature Review Immunology, Nature Review Microbiology, and Immunity. It has been selected as recommended article by Faculty 1000 and featured in news reports by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The mainstream academic media, such as Science Daily and Ebiotrade, have recognized these studies as important scientific discoveries. Jia Sun also served as the chair of the Gordon Research Seminar on Antimicrobial Peptides held in California, USA.

Furthermore, Jia Sun has obtained 10 invention patents in both the United States (1 patent) and China, and successfully commercialized them. Jia Sun's achievements have earned the first prize of Jiangsu Pharmacological Science and Technology Award.

► Education and Employment Experience Professor, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University

Associate professor, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University

Postdoctoral Researcher, Active Compounds and Immunoregulation, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Ph.D., Immunopharmacology, National University of Singapore

Bachelor's degree, Biomedical Science, National University of Singapore

► Current Research Interests

Jia Sun's research focuses on the gut microbiota and gastrointestinal immune diseases, aiming to address important scientific questions in the fields of dietary nutrition, gut microbiota, and their active metabolites in immune regulation in the body.

► Research Grants

1.    "Anti-inflammatory Immunopharmacology," National Excellent Youth Fund Project, 2022-2024, Principal Investigator, Project No. 8212200709

2.    "Role and Mechanism of Gut Microbiota-SCFAs-Macrophage Axis in Chronic Pancreatitis," National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) General Project, 2021-2024, Principal Investigator, Project No. 82070666

3.    "Functional Study of Gut-Derived Antimicrobial Peptides in Autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes," Natural Science Foundation Distinguished Young Scholars Project of Jiangsu Province, 2020-2021, Principal Investigator, Project No. BK20200026

4.       "Role of Butyrate and Butyrate-Producing Bacteria in Maintaining Intestinal Homeostasis and Severe Pancreatitis," NSFC General Project, 2019.01-2022.12, Principal Investigator, Project No. 81870439

5.       "Research and Development of Propionic Acid Bacteria for Pancreatic Health," Innovation and Entrepreneurship Plan Team Project of Jiangsu Province, 2019.01-2021.12

6.       "Role of Cathelicidins in Maintaining Intestinal Immune Homeostasis and the Pathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes," NSFC Major Research Plan (Incubation), 2017.01-2019.12, Principal Investigator, Project No. 91642114

7.       "Role and Molecular Mechanisms of Butyrate in Immune Inflammation of Type 1 Diabetes," NSFC General Project, 2016.01-2019.12, Principal Investigator, Project No. 31570915

8.       "Regulation of Short-Chain Fatty Acids on Regional Immune Homeostasis in the Pancreas and Gut," Key Project of Independent Scientific Research of Central Universities (Class A), 2016.01-2018.12, Principal Investigator, Project No. JUSRP51613A

9.       "The Health Mechanisms and Medicinal/Food Applications of Functional Fatty Acids and Antimicrobial Peptides," National Overseas High-Level Talents Project, 2015.01-2017.12, Principal Investigator

10.   "Screening of Natural Inducers for Antimicrobial Peptides," National High-End Foreign Expert Project, Chinese Principal Investigator, 2014.01-2015.12

11.   "Immune Regulatory Effects and Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Peptide Cathelicidins on Beta Cell Function," NSFC Youth Project, 2015.01-2017.12, Principal Investigator

12.   "Effects of Endogenous Inducers of Functional Active Compounds on Host Immune Defense, Chronic Disease Prevention, and Development of Novel Nutritional Products," Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Project of Jiangsu Province, 2015.01-2017.12, Principal Investigator

13.   "Development of Novel Immunodefense Peptide Inducers for Anti-Diabetic Islet Inflammation," Six Talent Peaks Project of Jiangsu Province, 2015.01-2017.12, Principal Investigator

14.   "Role and Mechanism of Dietary Fat and Host Defense Peptides in Pancreatic Beta Cell Function and Diabetes Prevention," Natural Science Foundation Youth Project of Jiangsu Province, 2014.01-2016.12, Principal Investigator