Myoung Sook Han, PhD

Assistant Professor, Program in Molecular Medicine  

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UMass Chan Medical School (Davis Lab)
PhD, Sungkyunkwan University of Medicine, South Korea

Han Lab Research

The Han Laboratory investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern beta cell function, survival, and failure under conditions of metabolic stress.

We study how beta cells adapt, compensate, and sometimes fail in response to increased metabolic demand or stress. We investigate how obesity, insulin resistance, and inflammatory signaling pathways, such as JNK activation in macrophages and adipocytes, impact beta cell physiology and contribute to the development and progression of diabetes.

By combining studies in mouse models, human beta cells, and advanced molecular techniques, we aim to identify the key pathways that control beta cell proliferation, insulin secretion, and stress resilience. Our work has revealed critical mechanisms of beta cell adaptation, including the role of metabolic stress signaling in regulating compensatory growth and maintaining functional beta cell mass. These insights are directly relevant to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, where beta cell failure is a central driver of disease.

Ultimately, the Han Laboratory seeks to translate these findings into therapeutic strategies that preserve beta cell health, restore lost or dysfunctional cells, and improve metabolic outcomes. Through this research, we aim to provide a mechanistic foundation for interventions that could prevent or delay the onset of diabetes, offering new hope for patients and advancing the broader understanding of metabolic disease.

• Beta Cell Adaptation in Metabolic Stress

Investigating the molecular mechanisms that regulate beta cell function, survival, and adaptation under metabolic stress, with a focus on understanding how dysfunction of beta cells contributes to diabetes progression.

• Signal Transduction in Obesity and Inflammation

Studying how pathways such as JNK activation in macrophages and adipocytes drive adipose tissue inflammation, liver pathology, and systemic metabolic stress, and how these processes impact beta cell health.

• Translational Strategies for Diabetes Prevention

Applying mechanistic insights from beta cell biology and metabolic disease to develop preventative and therapeutic approaches that preserve beta cell function and combat diabetes.

Selected Publications

Han MS, Perry RJ, Camporez JP, Scherer PE, Shulman GI, Gao G, Davis RJ. A feed-forward regulatory loop in adipose tissue promotes signaling by the hepatokine FGF21. Genes Dev. 2021;35(1-2):133-46. PMID: 33334822

Han MS, White A, Perry RJ, Camporez JP, Hidalgo J, Shulman GI, Davis RJ. Regulation of adipose tissue inflammation by interleukin 6. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020; 117: 6. PMID: 31980524

Han MS, Barrett T, Brehm MA, Davis RJ. Inflammation Mediated by JNK in Myeloid Cells Promotes the Development of Hepatitis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cell Rep. 2016;15(1):19-26. PMID: 27052181

Perry RJ, Camporez JP, Kursawe R, Titchenell PM, Zhang D, Perry CJ, Jurczak MJ, Abudukadier A, Han MS, Zhang XM, Ruan HB, Yang X, Caprio S, Kaech SM, Sul HS, Birnbaum MJ, Davis RJ, Cline GW, Petersen KF, Shulman GI. Hepatic acetyl CoA links adipose tissue inflammation to hepatic insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Cell. 2015;160(4):745-58. PMID: 25662011

Han MS, Jung DY, Morel C, Lakhani SA, Kim JK, Flavell RA, Davis RJ. JNK expression by macrophages promotes obesity-induced insulin resistance and inflammation. Science. 2013;339(6116):218-22. PMID: 23223452 

Han MS, Lim YM, Quan W, Kim JR, Chung KW, Kang M, Kim S, Park SY, Han JS, Park SY, Cheon HG, Dal Rhee S, Park TS, Lee MS. Lysophosphatidylcholine as an effector of fatty acid-induced insulin resistance. J Lipid Res. 2011;52(6):1234-46. PMID: 21447485

Han MS, Chung KW, Cheon HG, Rhee SD, Yoon CH, Lee MK, Kim KW, Lee MS. Imatinib mesylate reduces endoplasmic reticulum stress and induces remission of diabetes in db/db mice. Diabetes. 2009;58(2):329-36. PMID: 19171749

Jung HS, Chung KW, Won Kim J, Kim J, Komatsu M, Tanaka K, Nguyen YH, Kang TM, Yoon KH, Kim JW, Jeong YT, Han MS, Lee MK, Kim KW, Shin J, Lee MS. Loss of autophagy diminishes pancreatic beta cell mass and function with resultant hyperglycemia. Cell Metab. 2008;8(4):318-24. PMID: 18840362

Han MS, Park SY, Shinzawa K, Kim S, Chung KW, Lee JH, Kwon CH, Lee KW, Lee JH, Park CK, Chung WJ, Hwang JS, Yan JJ, Song DK, Tsujimoto Y, Lee MS. Lysophosphatidylcholine as a death effector in the lipoapoptosis of hepatocytes. J Lipid Res. 2008;49(1):84-97. PMID: 17951222

Kim S, Millet I, Kim HS, Kim JY, Han MS, Lee MK, Kim KW, Sherwin RS, Karin M, Lee MS. NF-kappa B prevents beta cell death and autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007;104(6):1913-8. PMID: 17267600

Kim HS, Han MS, Chung KW, Kim S, Kim E, Kim MJ, Jang E, Lee HA, Youn J, Akira S, Lee MS. Toll-like receptor 2 senses beta-cell death and contributes to the initiation of autoimmune diabetes. Immunity. 2007;27(2):321-33. PMID: 17707128