Yiping W. Han, PhD

  • Professor of Microbial Sciences (in Dental Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Sciences in Medicine)

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Overview

Dr. Yiping W. Han is Professor of Microbial Sciences in the Section of Oral & Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dental medicine, and in Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Medicine (Medical Sciences), and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, at Columbia University. She is also a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Digestive and Liver Diseases Research Center and Institute of Human Nutrition.

Dr. Han received BS in Biochemistry from Nanjing University in China, MS and PhD in Microbiology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and postdoctoral training at UCLA. Dr. Han is a world-renowned expert in host-pathogen interactions and translational studies. She is a pioneer elucidating the role of oral microbiota in systemic complications such as pregnancy complications and cancer and coined the term “mobile microbiome”. Her laboratory has demonstrated how oral bacteria translocate to extra-oral sites causing adverse pregnancy outcomes and stimulating gastrointestinal cancer and has identified novel host and microbial targets for diagnosis and therapeutic treatments.

Dr. Han is an inventor of multiple issued patents. She was elected to American Academy of Microbiology in 2022, and currently serves as President of the Anaerobe Society of the Americas, President of Columbia University Asian Faculty Association, and President-Elect of Sino-Micro Group. Dr. Han has lectured broadly. She has served on the editorial board of mLife and Scientific Reports among others and is currently an Editor of mBio.

Academic Appointments

  • Professor of Microbial Sciences (in Dental Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Sciences in Medicine)

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • BS, Biochemistry, Nanjing University, China
  • MS, 1989 Microbiology, University of Illinois - Urbana
  • PhD, 1993 Microbiology, University of Illinois - Urbana
  • Fellowship: 1997 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Committees, Societies, Councils

  • 2014 - Present: Member, American Association for Cancer Research
  • 2014 - Present: Member, Anaerobe Society of the Americas
    • President-Elect: 2022-202
    • President: 2024-2026
  • 2014 - Present: Member, The New York Academy of Sciences
  • 2010 - Present: Member, Sino-Micro Group
    • President-Elect 2024-2026
  • 2010 - Present: Member, International Federation of Placenta Associations
  • 2007 - Present: Member, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • 2003 - Present: Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • 1998 - Present: Member, International/American Association for Dental Research
  • 1995 - Present: Member, American Society for Microbiology
  • 2024 - Present: Board Member of Federation of Asian Professor Associations
  • 2021 - 2024: President-Elect and President of Columbia University Asian Faculty Association
  • 2009 - 2014: Council Member of American Association for Dental Research (AADR)
  • 2011 - 2014: Member of AADR Nomination Committee

Editorial Boards

  • mBio
  • mLife

Honors & Awards

  • 2022: Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology
  • 2011 - 2021: Honorary Professor, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan University, China
  • 2020: Finalist, Equalize 2020, 1st national pitching competition for academic women entrepreneurs
  • 2011: Finalist, A Grand Challenge for Development - Saving Lives at Birth, co-sponsored by USAID/Grand Challenges Canada/Gates Foundation/World Bank/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • 2006 - 2011: Independent Scientist Award (KO2 DE 16102, PI: Han), NIH/NIDCR
  • 1989: Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, University of Illinois - Urbana

Research

My research has been consistently funded by the NIH and involves the role of microbes in human health and disease. My research interests include host-pathogen interactions, human microbiome and oral-systemic connections. The human microbiome is a vast population of microbes that play an essential role in health and disease. Work in our laboratory is focused on the following aspects:

  1. Investigating the role of oral bacteria in extra-oral infection and inflammation
  2. Investigating the mechanisms of Fusobacterium nucleatum pathogenesis in pregnancy complications and gastrointestinal cancers
  3. Developing genetic tools for mutant construction in bacteria.

Research Interests

  • Gastrointestinal Cancer
  • Gastrointestinal Disorders
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Human Microbiome
  • Neurodegenerative Disease
  • Reproductive Infections

Grants

  • 2025-2030 NIH R01CA292464
    "Microbial and host biomarkers in colorectal cancer oncogenesis"
    PI (Yiping Han)
  • 2020-2025 NIH R01DE029532
    "Investigation of FadA adhesin from Fusobacterium nucleatum"
    PI (Yiping Han)

Selected Publications

  1. Baik J.E., Li L., Shah M.A., Freedberg D.E., Jin Z., Wang T.C., and Han Y.W.* (2022) “Circulating IgA antibodies against Fusobacterium nucleatum adhesin FadA are a potential biomarker for colorectal neoplasia.” Cancer Res Comm 2022 Nov; 2(11): 1497–1503. Published online 2022 Nov 29. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-22-0248.
  2. Vander Haar E.L., Wu G., Gyamfi-Bannerman C., Thomas C., Wapner R.J, Reddy U.M., Zhao L., Silver R. M., Goldenberg R.L, and Han Y.W.* (2022) “Microbial analysis of umbilical cord blood reveals novel pathogens associated with stillbirth and early preterm birth.” mBio Oct 26;13(5):e0203622. doi: 10.1128/mbio.02036-22. Epub 2022 Aug 22.
  3. Wu H., Qiu W., Zhu X., Li X., Xie Z., Carreras I., Dedeoglu A., Van Dyke T., Han Y.W., Karimbux N., Tu Q., Cheng L. and Chen J. (2022) “The periodontal pathogen Fusobacterium nucleatum exacerbates Alzheimer’s pathogenesis via specific pathways.” Front. Aging Neurosci. 14: 912709. DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.912709.
  4. Meng Q., Gao Q., Mehrazarin S., Tangwanichgapong K., Wang Y., Huang Y., Pan Y., Robinson S., Liu Z., Zangiabadi A., Lux R., Papapanou P.N., Guo, X.E., Wang, H., Berchowitz, L.E., Han, Y.W.* (2021) “Fusobacteria nucleatum secretes amyloid-like FadA to enhance pathogenicity.” EMBO Reports 22(7): e52891. DOI 10.15252/embr.202152891.
  5. Richardson M., Ren J., Rubinstein M. R., Taylor J. A., Friedman R. A., Shen B., Han Y.W.* (2020) “Analysis of 16S rRNA genes reveals reduced Fusobacterial community diversity when translocating from saliva to GI sites.” Gut Microbe 12(1): 1-13. DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2020.1814120.
  6. Rubinstein, M. R., Baik, J. E., Lagana, S. M., Han, R. P., Raab, W. J., Sahoo, D., Dalerba, P., Wang, T. C., Han, Y. W.* (2019) Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes colorectal cancer through induction of novel Wnt/beta-catenin modulator Annexin A1 in proliferating cancerous cells. EMBO Reports 20 (4), pii: e47638. doi: 10.15252/embr.201847638.
  7. Garcia-So, J., Zhang, X., Yang, X., Rubinstein, M. R., Mao, D. Y., Kitajewski, J, Liu, K., Han, Y. W.* (2019) Omega-3 fatty acids suppress Fusobacterium nucleatum-induced placental inflammation originating from maternal endothelial cells. JCI Insight 4 (3): pii: 125436. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.125436. Online publication 02.07.2019.
  8. Han, Y. W.* (2015) Fusobacterium nucleatum: a commensal-turned pathogen. Curr Opinion Microbiol. 23:141-7.
  9. Rubinstein, M. R., Wang, Y., Liu, W., Hao, Y., Cai, G., and Han, Y. W.* (2013) Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes colorectal carcinogenesis by modulating the E-cadherin/beta-catenin signaling via its unique FadA adhesin. Cell Host & Microbe 14: 195-206.

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov