Lijun Xia

Job Description

My research focuses on O-glycans, a sugar that your body makes. In my lab, we’ve found O-glycans are important in the development of the blood and lymphatic vascular system. Without this sugar, the body doesn’t know if it should grow blood vessels or pieces of the lymphatic system, or how to connect them properly. This can lead to many diseases such as cancer metastasis and fatty liver disease. We are working to understand how to prevent these potentially deadly conditions.

The lab also studies the role of glycans on platelets, the smallest blood cell, in the formation of abnormal blood clots, which are the cause of common forms of heart attack and stroke.

In patients with colitis and colorectal tumors, we’ve found that O-glycans are different than in patients with normal intestinal systems. So, we’re also exploring whether abnormalities of this sugar in the intestines might actually cause these diseases—in hopes of using the knowledge we gain to treat these intestinal diseases.