With a 30-year clinical career, Dr. Yanming Chen has extensive clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of endocrine and metabolic diseases, including diabetes, its complications, thyroid diseases (such as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism), pituitary-adrenal diseases, obesity, fatty liver disease, and gonadal disorders. She possesses a high level of diagnostic and treatment capability for acute and complex endocrine and metabolic conditions. 

As the discipline leader, she has established four standardized sub-specialties (diabetes, obesity and metabolic diseases, thyroid disorders, and pituitary adrenal gonadal gland diseases), and conducted homogeneous management across 4 campuses (Tianhe, Lingnan, Aodong and Zhaoqing). She presides over regular ward rounds and remote discussions of complex cases, enhancing the influence and reach of the discipline.The comprehensive strength of the discipline ranks among the top three in South China. 

As the Director of Guangdong Key Laboratory of Diabetes Prevention and Control and the Director of Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Molecular Mechanism and Translational Research on Obesity, Dr. Chen has been committed to the organic integration of clinical and basic translational research, achieving a series of innovative results and accumulating valuable experience. She is recognized as a leading figure in the domestic arena for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and obesity, as well as for her research on the pathogenesis of microvascular complications. 

Recent landmark achievements include the systematic revelation of LRP5, a key molecule of renal fibrosis, providing a new target for the treatment of renal diseases in the field of renal fibrosis research. The role of iTregs in the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus has been systematically confirmed, expounding on the signaling pathway that plays a critical regulatory role and offering new insights for immune intervention therapy in type 1 diabetes. Additionally, it has been discovered that the intestinal Bacteroides ovalis activates MAIT cells, leading to inflammation and revealing a new mechanism for the development of diabetes in patients with simple obesity.

An innovative artificial intelligence diagnosis system for pituitary microadenoma has also been developed, achieving diagnostic sensitivity and specificity comparable to that of radiologists with 10 years of clinical experience. With support from the national key research and development plan, clinical treatments using stem cells for type 1 diabetes have been successfully conducted, demonstrating significant clinical efficacy. 

In the past five years, Dr. Chen has published nearly 50 SCI papers as the first/corresponding author, including articles in Cellular & Molecular Immunology and Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. Her achievements in diabetic retinopathy screening and diabetes management platform construction have earned the Second Prize of Guangdong Science and Technology Progress Award (the first person-in-charge, 2023) and the Second Prize of Guangdong Medical Science and Technology Award (the first person-in-charge, 2022). 

Dr. Chen has also played a pivotal role in establishing the South China Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance, which comprises 83 medical institutions across Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi and Hunan. As chair, she has successfully hosted seven sessions of the "Guangzhou International Forum on Diabetes and Obesity," each attracting nearly 1,000 participants, and organized 15 provincial and municipal continuing education workshops and training sessions. She spares no effort in exploring and expanding the influence of her disciplines and hospitals, dedicating her work to benefit the community. 

Publications

1. L Li Y, Yang Y, Wang J, Cai P, Li M, Tang X, Tan Y, Wang Y, Zhang F, Wen X, Liang Q, Nie Y, Chen T, Peng X, He X, Zhu Y, Shi G, Cheung WW, Wei L, Chen Y, Lu Y. Bacteroides ovatus-mediated CD27- MAIT cell activation is associated with obesity-related T2D progression. Cell Mol Immunol. 2022 Jul; 19(7): 791-804. doi: 10.1038/s41423-022-00871-4. Epub 2022 May 11. PMID: 35545662; PMCID: PMC9243016. (JCR Q 1, IF: 22.1) 

2. Zhou L, He X, Cai P, Li T, Peng R, Dang J, Li Y, Li H, Huang F, Shi G, Xie C, Lu Y, Chen Y. Induced regulatory T cells suppress Tc1 cells through TGF-β signaling to ameliorate STZ-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus. Cell Mol Immunol. 2021 Mar; 18(3): 698-710. doi: 10.1038/s41423-020-00623-2. Epub 2021 Jan 14. PMID: 33446887; PMCID: PMC8027661. (JCR Q 1, IF: 22.1) 

3. He X, Wen S, Tang X, Wen Z, Zhang R, Li S, Gao R, Wang J, Zhu Y, Fang D, Li T, Peng R, Zhang Z, Wen S, Zhou L, Ai H, Lu Y, Zhang S, Shi G, Chen Y. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists rescued diabetic vascular endothelial damage through suppression of aberrant STING signaling. Acta Pharm Sin B. 2024 Jun; 14(6): 2613-2630. doi: 10.1016/j.apsb.2024.03.011. Epub 2024 Mar 10. PMID: 38828140; PMCID: PMC11143538. (JCR Q 1, IF: 14.7) 

4. Li S, Tang X, Luo Y, Wu B, Huang Z, Li Z, Peng L, Ling Y, Zhu J, Zhong J, Liu J, Chen Y. Impact of long-term glucose variability on coronary atherosclerosis progression in patients with type 2 diabetes: a 2.3 year follow-up study. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2020 Sep 25; 19(1): 146. doi: 10.1186/s12933-020-01126-0. PMID: 32977802; PMCID:  PMC7517679. (JCR Q 1, IF: 9.95) 

5. Tang X, Zhong J, Zhang H, Luo Y, Liu X, Peng L, Zhang Y, Qian X, Jiang B, Liu J, Li S, Chen Y. Visit-to-visit fasting plasma glucose variability is an important risk factor for long-term changes in left cardiac structure and function in patients with type 2 diabetes. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2019 Apr 16; 18(1): 50. doi: 10.1186/s12933-019-0854-9. PMID: 30992008; PMCID: PMC6469221. (JCR Q 1, IF: 9.95) 

6. Li T, Qian Y, Li H, Wang T, Jiang Q, Wang Y, Zhu Y, Li S, He X, Shi G, Su W, Lu Y, Chen Y. Cellular communication network factor 1 promotes retinal leakage in diabetic retinopathy via inducing neutrophil stasis and neutrophil extracellular traps extrusion. Cell Commun Signal. 2024 May 16; 22(1): 275. doi: 10.1186/s12964-024-01653-3. PMID: 38755602; PMCID: PMC11097549. (JCR Q 2, IF: 8.2) 

7. Xiang X, Zhu Y, Pan X, Xin W, Chen J, Tang W, Guo R, Yuan W, He X, Zhou L, Ren Z, Wen S, Wang H, Lu Y, Li S, Chen T, Zhou Y, Dou Z, Cai M, Zhang X, Chen Y, Shi G. ER stress aggravates diaphragm weakness through activating PERK/JNK signaling in obesity hypoventilation syndrome. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2023 Aug; 31(8): 2076-2089. doi: 10.1002/oby.23809. PMID: 37475688. (JCR Q 2, IF: 4.2)