Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Xin Li, PhD, is a Professor of Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial, and Oral Health
Transcript
I'm fascinated by how simple metabolite, something like succinate, our cells and microbiota make all the time, can act as a signaling molecule that shapes disease. What really excites me is a loop we study. When tissues are stressed, succinate builds up, and then it feeds back to drive more inflammation. Understanding and eventually breaking this loop is what motivates me every day. I'm Xin Li, a professor in the plastic surgery, maxillofacial and oral health department at UVA. My lab studies how succinate signaling contributes to disease across different systems. We work on periodontitis, aging-related inflammation, connections between oral health and the brain, with emerging work in oral cancer pain. Along the way, we are not just studying the mechanisms, we are also developing ways to block this pathway, and we've already seen encouraging results in preclinical models. Ultimately, we want to turn these findings into real treatments. By targeting succinate signaling, we are working on new ways to treat and prevent chronic inflammatory diseases. From oral disease to neurodegeneration and cancer pain. With support from the Manning Institute for Biotechnology, we aim to move this work closer to the clinic.
Xin Li, PhD, is a Professor of Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial, and Oral Health
Transcript
I'm fascinated by how simple metabolite, something like succinate, our cells and microbiota make all the time, can act as a signaling molecule that shapes disease. What really excites me is a loop we study. When tissues are stressed, succinate builds up, and then it feeds back to drive more inflammation. Understanding and eventually breaking this loop is what motivates me every day. I'm Xin Li, a professor in the plastic surgery, maxillofacial and oral health department at UVA. My lab studies how succinate signaling contributes to disease across different systems. We work on periodontitis, aging-related inflammation, connections between oral health and the brain, with emerging work in oral cancer pain. Along the way, we are not just studying the mechanisms, we are also developing ways to block this pathway, and we've already seen encouraging results in preclinical models. Ultimately, we want to turn these findings into real treatments. By targeting succinate signaling, we are working on new ways to treat and prevent chronic inflammatory diseases. From oral disease to neurodegeneration and cancer pain. With support from the Manning Institute for Biotechnology, we aim to move this work closer to the clinic.
