PI Introduction:

Wei Kong, MD, PhD

Email: kongw@bjmu.edu.cn

Wei Kong, Peking University Boya Distinguished Professor, Dean of the School of Basic Medical Science and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology. Chang Jiang Scholar of the Ministry of Education, winner of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, Leading Talent of the National Special Support Program for High-Level Talents (the "Ten Thousand Talents Plan"), and Principal Investigator of the Innovative Research Group of the National Science Foundation of China. Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Vascular Homeostasis and Remodeling and Vice President of the Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences.

She received her bachelor's degree from Tongji Medical University in 1995. She received her doctor's degree in basic medical pathophysiology from Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2000. She was a postdoctoral fellow at University of Washington and New York University School of Medicine from February 2001 to December 2005. In December 2005, she returned to China and became an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology at Peking University Health Science Center. She was appointed Professor in 2010, assumed the role of Department Chair in December 2016, and has served as Dean of the School of Basic Medical Sciences since June 2023.

Her research has long focused on the pathogenesis of major cardiovascular diseases, concentrating on the role and mechanisms of the vascular microenvironment in vascular homeostasis and diseases. Her main research areas include: (1) the role of the extracellular matrix in maintaining vascular homeostasis and pathological remodeling (including atherosclerosis, aortic aneurysm/dissection, and vascular calcification); (2) the identification and functional study of novel vasoactive substances and their receptors, as well as their mechanisms in cardiovascular diseases. She has revealed new strategies for treating atherosclerosis beyond lipid-lowering, with findings validated on multiple occasions by population and clinical studies. Her work has been featured in invited reviews 15 times and has been granted 5 domestic and 7 international patents. She has published more than 160 SCI papers in authoritative international journals such as Nature, Science, Nature Reviews Cardiology, Circulation, European Heart Journal, etc.

She has presided over numerous grants, including the Innovative Research Group Project and Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), as well as a Major Research Plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology. She has received the China Youth Science and Technology Award, the First Prize in Natural Science Award of the Ministry of Education, the Wu Jieping-Paul Janssen Medical & Pharmaceutical Award, and the Joseph Loscalzo Award from the American Heart Association. She served as associate editor of AJP Cell Physiology and IUBMB Life, and serves on the editorial boards of journals including Circulation Research, Matrix Biology, and Cardiovascular Research.

Representative articles:

1. Zhang S, Lin H, Wang J, Rui J, Wang T, Cai Z, Huang S, Gao Y, Ma T, Fan R, Dai R, Li Z, Jia Y, Chen Q, He H, Tan J, Zhu S, Gu R, Dong Z, Li M, Xie E, Fu Y, Zheng J, Jiang C, Sun J, Kong W. Sensing ceramides by CYSLTR2 and P2RY6 to aggravate atherosclerosis. Nature. 2025;641:476-485.

2. Zhang L, Zhou J and Kong W. Extracellular matrix in vascular homeostasis and disease. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2025;22:333-353.

3. Ma T, Cai Z, Xu X, Cao L, Wang A, Zhang Z, Zhang S, Huang Z, Luo J, Lin S, Ge J, Wang X, Fu Y, Yu F, Zhou J, Wang L, Zhang H, Gao X, Guo W, Kong W. Calcium channel blockers increase the risk of aortic aneurysm and dissection. Nat Commun. 2025 Dec 25;17(1):1334.

4. Yang S, Ma Z, Dai R, Xu Q, Hao W, Tan L, Liu Z, Zhang J, Yu F, Fu Y, Kong W. ADAMTS-7 Vaccine Confers Renal and Vascular Protection in Chronic Kidney Disease. Circ Res. 2026 Feb 24. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.125.327881.

5. Zhang X., Gong Z., Shen Y, Cai Z, Yang L, Zhang T, Li W, Zhao Y, Zhu S, Liu C, Wang J, Wang X, Qi R, Liu J, Lei X, Wang W, Jiang C, Fu Y, Kong W. Alkaline ceramidase 1–mediated platelet ceramide catabolism mitigates vascular inflammation and abdominal aortic aneurysm formation. Nat Cardiovasc Res. 2023;2:1173–1189.

6. Yang X, Xu C, Yao F, Ding Q, Liu H, Luo C, Wang D, Huang J, Li Z, Shen Y, Yang W, Li Z, Yu F, Fu Y, Wang L, Ma Q, Zhu J, Xu F, Cong X, Kong W. Targeting endothelial tight junctions to predict and protect thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection. Eur Heart J. 2023 Apr 7;44(14):1248-1261.

7. Ma Z, Mao C, Chen X, Yang S, Qiu Z, Yu B, Jia Y, Wu C, Wang Y, Wang Y, Gu R, Yu F, Yin Y, Wang X, Xu Q, Liu C, Liao Y, Zheng J, Fu Y, Kong W. Peptide Vaccine Against ADAMTS-7 Ameliorates Atherosclerosis and Postinjury Neointima Hyperplasia. Circulation. 2023 Feb 28;147(9):728-742.

8. Mao C, Ma Z, Jia Y, Li W, Xie N, Zhao G, Ma B, Yu F, Sun J, Zhou Y, Cui Q, Fu Y, Kong W. Nidogen-2 Maintains the Contractile Phenotype of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Prevents Neointima Formation via Bridging Jagged1-Notch3 Signaling. Circulation. 2021 Oct 12;144(15):1244-1261.

9. Fu Y, Huang Y, Yang Z, Chen Y, Zheng J, Mao C, Li Z, Liu Z, Yu B, Li T, Wang M, Xu C, Zhou Y, Zhao G, Jia Y, Guo W, Jia X, Zhang T, Li L, Liu Z, Guo S, Ma M, Zhang H, Liu B, Du J, Wang W, Tang C, Gao P, Xu Q, Wang X, Liu J, Sun J, Kong W. Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein is an endogenous beta-arrestin-2-selective allosteric modulator of AT1 receptor counteracting vascular injury. Cell Res. 2021 Jul;31(7):773-790.

10. Wang Y, Chen D, Zhang Y, Wang P, Zheng C, Zhang S, Yu B, Zhang L, Zhao G, Ma B, Cai Z, Xie N, Huang S, Liu Z, Mo X, Guan Y, Wang X, Fu Y, Ma D, Wang Y, Kong W. A Novel Adipokine, FAM19A5, Inhibits Postinjury Neointima Formation through Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 2. Circulation. 2018 Jul 3;138(1):48-63. (Editorial comment)

Significant grants received:

1. 2013.1-2016.12, National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars

2. 2013.1-2017.12, Projects of International Cooperation and Exchanges, National Natural Science Foundation of China

3. 2016.1-2019.12, Key Project of the Major Research Plan "Regulatory Mechanisms of Vascular Homeostasis and Remodeling", National Natural Science Foundation of China

4. 2018.1-2021.12, Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China

5. 2020.1-2024.12, Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China

6. 2020.1-2024.12, Foundation for Innovative Research Group of the National Natural Science Foundation of China

7. 2022.12-2027.11, Principal Investigator of a Project under the National Key Research and Development Program of China

8. 2023.01-2027.12, Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China

9. 2025.8-2029.8, National Science and Technology Major Project — Research on Prevention and Treatment of Cancer, Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Respiratory Diseases, and Metabolic Diseases

Honors and Awards:

1. 2026 – The 26th Wu Jieping-Paul Janssen Medical & Pharmaceutical Award

2. 2025 – ISHR Fellow, International Society for Heart Research

3. 2023 – Joseph Loscalzo Award, American Heart Association

4. 2021 – First Prize in Natural Science Award (Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Excellence Award), Ministry of Education

5. 2018 – Leading Talent of the Fourth Batch of the "National Special Support Program for High-Level Talents" (Ten Thousand Talents Program), Ministry of Science and Technology

6. 2016 – Cheung Kong Distinguished Professor, Ministry of Education

7. 2016 – The 14th China Youth Science and Technology Award, Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee

8. 2015 – Grand Challenges Young Scientist Award (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology

9. 2012 – National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, National Natural Science Foundation of China

      10. 2008 – The 11th Fok Ying Tung Young Teachers’ Foundation Fund Award, Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation

Laboratory Members:

Limei Liu, Co-PI, Associate Professor

Email: liulm@bjmu.edu.cn

Limei Liu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University. She received her Ph.D. degree from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011. Her research has been focused on the pathogenesis and intervention strategies of cardiovascular diseases, with a particular emphasis on the regulation of vascular endothelial function. She has published more than 50 articles, 22 as the first author or corresponding author, in prestigious international journals including Hypertension, Antioxid Redox Signal, and Br J Pharmacol. She has also served as the principal investigator for research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program: 81873475, 81570445 and Young Scientists Fund: 81200183) and Clinical Medicine Plus X - Young Scholars Project, Peking University (2020).

Zhiqing Li, Research Associate Professor

Email: lizhiqing@bjmu.edu.cn

Zhiqing Li is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the Eight-Year Medical Program of Peking University in 2016 and her Ph.D. in Human Physiology from the Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Peking University, in 2020. From May 2020 to April 2025, she conducted postdoctoral research at the School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center. In May 2025, she joined the Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University. Her research has been focused on the pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and intervention strategies of cardiovascular diseases, with a particular emphasis on vascular extracellular matrisomics and bioactive metabolites. In recent years, she has achieved a series of innovative and translational findings in the fields of vascular calcification, matrix mechanics, and aortic aneurysms. She has published multiple papers as the first author or co-corresponding author in prestigious international journals, including Circulation Research (2), ATVB, and AJP-Cell Physiol. She has also served as the principal investigator for research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program and Young Scientists Fund, Category C).

Cai Zeyu Postdoctoral Fellow

Email: caizy@bjmu.edu.cn

Research interests: G protein-coupled receptors and vascular diseases

Xueyuan Yang, Postdoctoral Fellow

Email: nangua1874@163.com

Research interests: Vascular endothelial cells and vascular remodeling

Wenqiang Li, Postdoctoral Fellow

Email: liwenqiang@pku.edu.cn

Research direction: Screening of targets for phenotypic transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells

Shirong Zhu, Postdoctoral Fellow

Email: shirong_zhu@bjmu.edu.cn

Research interests: Residual Risk Assessment and Intervention of Atherosclerosis

Jingjing Luo, Postdoctoral Fellow

Email: luojingjing677@foxmail.com

Research direction: Pathogenesis of Aortic Aneurysm and Aortic Dissection

Laboratory environment:

Group photo:

Postdoctoral Fellow Recruitment:

Our laboratory is continuously recruiting postdoctoral fellows. We welcome applications from early-career researchers with a background in cardiovascular biology, extracellular matrix, metabolism, and related fields.