Dr. Xiaoli Sun is a biomedical scientist whose research centers on the molecular mechanisms that connect metabolic dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and cancer. She is particularly focused on a class of harmful lipids known as oxidized phospholipids (OxPLs) and their role in liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

HCC is one of the fastest-growing causes of cancer-related death globally, with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) emerging as a leading driver of this increase. Unlike HCC arising from viral hepatitis, MASH-associated HCC often develops silently without cirrhosis and remains challenging to treat. While therapeutic options for MASH are beginning to emerge, there are still no effective strategies proven to prevent or manage HCC in this context. This growing burden highlights an urgent need to uravel the molecular drivers of cancer in metabolically stressed livers.

At the University of Texas Health San Antonio (UTHSCSA), Dr. Xiaoli Sun leads a research program aimed at uncovering how toxic lipid peroxidation products, particularly OxPLs, promote tumor initiation and progression in MASH-associated HCC. Her work investigates how OxPLs accumulate in diseased livers, alter the tumor microenvironments, and drive cancer both through direct effects on tumor cells and by reprogramming tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs).

Dr. Sun received her postdoctoral training at UC San Diego under the mentorship of Drs. Joseph Witztum and Christopher Glass, where she gained foundational expertise in lipid metabolism and macrophage biology. During this time, she utilized an innovative transgenic mouse model expressing E06-scFv, a natural antibody fragment that neutralizes OxPLs, she discovered that neutralization significantly reduces liver fat accumulation, inflammation, fibrosis, and tumor burden. She also developed novel assays to streamline the detection of these lipids in biological tissues and fluid samples.

Now at UTHSCSA, Dr. Xiaoli Sun leverages cutting-edge tools, including CRISPR gene editing, multi-omics technologies, antibody-based therapy, and preclinical models to investigate how OxPLs orchestrate immune cell responses and remodel the tumor-promoting microenvironment. Her laboratory is actively developing novel therapeutic strategies for HCC, with the long-term goal of translating these findings into clinical applications.

With strong support from the NCI-designated Mays Cancer Center and Transplant Center, Dr. Xiaoli Sun is committed to advancing novel therapies for liver cancer, especially in South Texas, where rates of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction are prevalent. Through her work, Dr. Sun is redefining how we understand metabolic stress and lipid-driven carcinogenesis and paving the way toward innovative, metabolism-targeted treatment for HCC.