Skip to main content

Faculty Profile

Riyasat AliLianjie Miao

Research Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Office: 
University of Houston College of Pharmacy
Health 2, Room 5000
4349 Martin Luther King Boulevard
Houston, TX 77204-5037

Contact: lmiao4@uh.edu

Research:

My research interest is investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cardiac morphogenesis and congenital heart diseases. The research program I am currently working on is studying the function and formation of the Tunnelling Nanotube-Like microstructure (TNTL) between cardiomyocytes and endocardial cells in the heart during early cardiac morphogenesis, which is crucial for signal transduction and cardiac trabeculation. Moreover, I am also working on investigating the heterogeneity of the pro-epicardium and the origin of pacemaker progenitor cells by single-cell sequencing and cell lineage tracing. The ultimate goal of my research is trying to provide a clinical basis for the therapy of congenital heart diseases and clues for cardiac repair and seek potential chemical drugs to rescue specific heart development defects or generate mouse models with certain congenital heart diseases.

  • Visiting Student, Albany Medical College, Albany, N.Y.

  • Ph.D. Biology, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China

  • B.S. Pharmacy, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China

ORCID ID

Research and Review Articles

  • Li Q, Miao L, Xia L, Abdelnasser HY, Zhang F, Lu Y, Nusrat A, Tabassum M, Li J, Wu M. Left Ventricular Noncompaction Is Associated with Valvular Regurgitation and a Variety of Arrhythmias. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis. 2022 Feb 2;9(2). doi: 10.3390/jcdd9020049. PubMed PMID: 35200702; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8876824. (Co-first author)
  • Miao L, Lu Y, Nusrat A, Abdelnasser HY, Datta S, Zhou B, Schwartz RJ, Wu M. The Spatiotemporal Expression of Notch1 and Numb and Their Functional Interaction during Cardiac Morphogenesis. Cells. 2021 Aug 25;10(9). doi: 10.3390/cells10092192. PubMed PMID: 34571841; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8471136.
  • Miao L, Li J, Li J, Lu Y, Shieh D, Mazurkiewicz JE, Barroso M, Schwarz JJ, Xin HB, Singer HA, Vincent PA, Zhong W, Radice GL, Wan LQ, Fan ZC, Huang G, Wu M. Cardiomyocyte orientation modulated by the Numb family proteins-N-cadherin axis is essential for ventricular wall morphogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Jul 30;116(31):15560-15569. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1904684116. Epub 2019 Jul 12. PubMed PMID: 31300538; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6681736.
  • Miao L, Li J, Li J, Tian X, Lu Y, Hu S, Shieh D, Kanai R, Zhou BY, Zhou B, Liu J, Firulli AB, Martin JF, Singer H, Zhou B, Xin H, Wu M. Notch signaling regulates Hey2 expression in a spatiotemporal dependent manner during cardiac morphogenesis and trabecular specification. Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 8;8(1):2678. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-20917-w. PubMed PMID: 29422515; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5805758.
  • Wang LF, Miao LJ, Wang XN, Huang CC, Qian YS, Huang X, Wang XL, Jin WZ, Ji GJ, Fu M, Deng KY, Xin HB. CD38 deficiency suppresses adipogenesis and lipogenesis in adipose tissues through activating Sirt1/PPARγ signaling pathway. J Cell Mol Med. 2018 Jan;22(1):101-110. doi: 10.1111/jcmm.13297. Epub 2017 Aug 16. PubMed PMID: 28816006; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5742727. (Co-first author)
  • Li J, Miao L, Zhao C, Shaikh Qureshi WM, Shieh D, Guo H, Lu Y, Hu S, Huang A, Zhang L, Cai CL, Wan LQ, Xin H, Vincent P, Singer HA, Zheng Y, Cleaver O, Fan ZC, Wu M. CDC42 is required for epicardial and pro-epicardial development by mediating FGF receptor trafficking to the plasma membrane. Development. 2017 May 1;144(9):1635-1647. doi: 10.1242/dev.147173. PubMed PMID: 28465335; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5450847. (Co-first author)
  • Shaikh Qureshi WM, Miao L, Shieh D, Li J, Lu Y, Hu S, Barroso M, Mazurkiewicz J, Wu M. Imaging Cleared Embryonic and Postnatal Hearts at Single-cell Resolution. J Vis Exp. 2016 Oct 7;(116). doi: 10.3791/54303. PubMed PMID: 27768060; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5092176.
  • Li J, Miao L, Shieh D, Spiotto E, Li J, Zhou B, Paul A, Schwartz RJ, Firulli AB, Singer HA, Huang G, Wu M. Single-Cell Lineage Tracing Reveals that Oriented Cell Division Contributes to Trabecular Morphogenesis and Regional Specification. Cell Rep. 2016 Apr 5;15(1):158-170. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.03.012. Epub 2016 Mar 24. PubMed PMID: 27052172; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4826812.

Awards & Honors

  • PPS Research Symposium 1st place, Postdoctoral Oral Presentation, 2023
  • Outstanding poster Presentation Award, Weinstein Cardiovascular Development and Regeneration Conference, 2023
  • PPS Research Symposium 1st place, Postdoctoral Oral Presentation, 2022
  • American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2019-2020
  • National Scholarship, China, 2014-2016
  • Outstanding Student Scholarship, Nanchang University, 2008-2010