Kan Ding is an active professor and a principal investigator in Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was granted the National Natural Science Foundation Distinguished Young Scholars of China in 2011. Dr. Kan Ding’s research mainly focuses on the structure and function, structure-activity relationship, targeting, and the mechanism underlying action of polysaccharides from traditional Chinese medicine, relationship between bioactive polysaccharide and gut microbiota, and functional mechanism of cell membrane proteoglycan and its related enzymes. In addition, he also tries to uncover new target for glycan-based drug development and engage in carbohydrate based drug development. At present, there are 36 members in his group.

Dr. Kan Ding got his M.Sc. degree in Pharmacognosy in 1996. Then he registered as a Ph. D student and work with Prof. Jinian Fang as his mentor in Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese academy of sciences from 1996 to 1999. At that time, He focused on the study of structure and bioactivity of polysaccharide. After he got his Ph. D. degree in 1999, he did his postdoctoral training in Lund University in Sweden, worked as a research fellow associate in University of California, Irvine and a research fellow in Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in U. S. A., embarking on the glycobiology study on the structure and function of cell membrane proteoglycan in tumor. Then, he was recruited as a full professor by Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese academy of sciences since 2005. He succeeded in the grant application of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China in 2011.

So far, he has obtained 26 grants, including State Key Program of National Natural Science of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, National Natural Science Foundation, Major National Science and Technology projects: Major New Drug Candidate Drugs, National Science and Technology Major Projects for Key Techniques, Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, National High-Tech R&D Program of China (863 Program), “Hundred Talents Project” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc., and took part in 7 projects including National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program). In addition, one book entitled “The structure, function their bioactive mechanism of polysaccharides from traditional Chinese medicine” has been issued under his general editorship. He also published three chapters in Advanced Medicinal Chemistry and the Extraction and Separation of Active Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine. He has published 134 papers on the international journal including J Cell Biol, Oncogene, J Biol Chem, Oncotarget, Glycobiology, Cancer Lett, Carbohydr Polym, Sci Rep, Carbohydr Res and and filed 61 national and international patents.

EDUCATION

01/09/1996 - 01/07/1999, Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Shanghai, China)

01/09/1993 - 01/07/1996, M.Sc. in Pharmacognosy in China Pharmaceutical University (Nanjing, China)

WORK EXPERIENCE

01/01/2006 - present, Professor, Principal Investigator, Glycochemistry & Glycobiology Lab in Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

01/01/2004 - 01/11/2005, Research fellow, Neurosciences Center in Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (Boston, U.S.A.)

01/12/2001 - 01/12/2003, Research Fellow associate in Department of Cell and Developmental Biology in University of California, Irvine (Irvine, U.S.A.)

01/09/1999 - 01/11/2001, Postdoctoral Fellow, in Department of Cell and Molecular Biology in Lund University (Lund, Sweden)

01/08/1986 - 31/08/1993, Instructor, Jiangsu Pharmaceutical School, Jiangsu,China

1.Yao Y, Zhou L, Liao W，Chen H, Du Z, Shao C, Wang P*, Ding K*, HH1-1, a novel Galectin-3 inhibitor, exerts anti-pancreatic cancer activity by blocking Galectin-3/EGFR/AKT/FOXO3 signaling pathway. Carbohydr Polym. 2019, 15;204:111-123. 

2.Li S, Li M*, Yue H, Zhou L, Huang L, Du Z, Ding K*. Structural elucidation of a pectic polysaccharide from Fructus Mori and its bioactivity on intestinal bacteria strains. Carbohydr Polym, 2018, 186:168-175. 

3.Zhou L, Liao W, Zeng H, Yao Y, Chen X, Ding K*. A pectin from fruits of Lycium barbarum L. decreases β-amyloid peptide production through modulating APP processing. Carbohydr Polym. 2018, 201:65-74. 

4.Zhang L#, Wang P#, Qin Y, Cong Q, Shao C, Du Z, Ni X, Li P*, Ding K*. RN1, a novel galectin-3 inhibitor, inhibits pancreatic cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo via blocking galectin-3 associated signaling pathways. Oncogene. 2017, 36(9):1297-1308. 

5.Chen H, Cong Q, Du Z, Liao W, Zhang L, Yao Y, Ding K*. Sulfated fucoidan FP08S2 inhibits lung cancer cell growth in vivo by disrupting angiogenesis via targeting VEGFR2/VEGF and blocking VEGFR2/Erk/VEGF signaling. Cancer Lett. 2016 382(1):44-52. 

6.Xiao F, Qiu H, Cui H, Ni X, Li J, Liao W, Lu N, Ding K*. MicroRNA-885-3p inhibits the growth of HT-29 colon cancer cell xenografts by disrupting angiogenesis via targeting BMPR1A and blocking BMP/Smad/Id1 signaling. Oncogene, 2015, 34(15):1968-78. 

7.Qin Y, Ke J*, Gu X, Fang J, Wang W, Cong Q, Li J, Tan J, Brunzelle JS, Zhang C, Jiang Y, Melcher K, Li JP, Xu HE*, Ding K*. Structural and functional study of D-glucuronyl C5-epimerase. J Biol Chem. 2015, 290(8):4620-30. 

8.Liu H, Zhou L, Shi S, Wang Y, Ni X, Xiao F, Wang S, Li P*, Ding K*. Oligosaccharide G19 inhibits U-87 MG human glioma cells growth in vitro and in vivo by targeting epidermal growth factor (EGF) and activating p53/p21 signaling. Glycobiology, 2014 24(8):748-65. 

9.Shen X, Fang J, Lv X, Pei Z, Wang Y, Jiang S, Ding K*. Heparin impairs angiogenesis through inhibition of MicroRNA-10b. J Biol Chem. 2011, 286(30):26616-27. 

10.Qiu H, Yang B, Pei ZC, Zhang Z, Ding K*. WSS25 inhibits growth of xenografted hepatocellular cancer cells in nude mice by disrupting angiogenesis via blocking BMP/SMAD/ID1 signaling. J Biol Chem. 2010, 285(42):32638-46.