Duxin Sun, PhD

Dr. Duxin Sun is Associate Dean for Research and the Charles Walgreen Jr. Professor of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy. He is the founding director of the Institute of AI-Driven Therapeutics Discovery and also directs the Pharmacokinetics (PK) Core. He holds joint appointments in the Chemical Biology program, the Interdisciplinary Medicinal Chemistry program, and the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Sun’s research focuses on drug development, cancer nanomedicine, cancer vaccines, and pharmacokinetics. He established the STAR system (Structure–Tissue/Cell Selectivity–Activity Relationship) to address the 90% failure rate in drug development. He has designed albumin-based nanomedicines that improve the efficacy of immuno-oncology drugs by targeting immune cells in the lymphatic system and tumors, and developed SARS-CoV-2 B epitope–guided neoantigen peptide and mRNA vaccines that activate CD4/CD8 T cell immunity through B cell–mediated antigen presentation.

Dr. Sun holds a BS in Pharmacy, an MS in Pharmacology, and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, with additional training in molecular biology as a visiting scientist. Drawing on research experience in both academia and industry, he has published more than 300 papers and mentored 40 PhD students and 75 postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists. An elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), he has served on the FDA Pharmaceutical Science and Clinical Pharmacology Advisory Committee and on NIH and FDA study sections.

Dr. Sun’s administrative Specialist is Erika Zucal – [email protected].

1. Dual targeting of PI3Kγ and STING overcomes regulatory B cell- and myeloid cell-driven immune suppression in pancreatic cancer. Chengyi Li, Fang Ke, Hongyi Zhao, Shuai Mao, Mahamadou Djibo, Linqi Huang, Miao He, Meilin Wang, Hanning Wen, Zhongwei Liu, Zhixin Yu, Zhihong Qi, Ana R. Xavier, Minal Nenwani, Bo Wen, Nicole Peterson, Vaibhav Sahai, Deepak Nagrath, Carrie L. Lucas, Matthias P. Wymann, Wei Gao, Lawrence Fong & Duxin Sun. Nature Cancer, 2026, https://www.nature.com/articles/s43018-026-01158-7
2. Albumin-Bound STING Agonist Reprograms HSPCs to Antitumor Neutrophils Enhancing CD8+ T Cell Immunity. Jinsong Tao, Hong-Yi Zhao, Chengyi Li, Hanning Wen, Fang Ke, Qiuxia Li, Miao He, Bo Wen, Zhongwei Liu, Kai Sun, Wei Gao, Duxin Sun. Advanced Science, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202523603
3. An oral tricyclic STING agonist suppresses tumor growth through remodeling of the immune microenvironment. Hong-Yi Zhao, Zhongwei Liu, Jinsong Tao, Shuai Mao, Meilin Wang, Miao He, Bo Wen, Wei Gao, Duxin Sun. Cell Chem Biol, 2025, 32, 280
4. Design of Potent Small-Molecule Stimulator of Interferon Gene Inhibitor and Stimulator of Interferon Gene Mutant-Specific Degrader.Hong-Yi Zhao, Luchen Zhang, Zhongwei Liu, Miao He, Meilin Wang, Qiuxia Li, Farzad Sarkari, Jinsong Tao, Bo Wen, Venkatesha Basrur, Hannah Myatt, Alexey Nesvizhskii, Duxin Sun. J Med Chem, 2025, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5c00123?ref=article_openPDF
5. Design of an Oral STING Agonist through Intramolecular Hydrogen Bond Ring Mimicking to Achieve Complete Tumor Regression. Hong-Yi Zhao, Jinsong Tao, Luchen Zhang, Qiuxia Li, Miao He, Bo Wen, Zhongwei Liu, Hannah Myatt, Duxin Sun. J Med Chem, 2025, 68: 11365
6. SARS-CoV-2 B Epitope-Guided Neoantigen NanoVaccines Enhance Tumor-Specific CD4/CD8 T Cell Immunity Through B Cell Antigen Presentation. Chengyi Li, Shuai Mao, Zera Montemayor, Mohamed Dit Mady Traore, Alejandra Duran, Fang Ke, Mahamadou Djibo, Hanning Wen, Wei Gao, Duxin Sun. ACS Nano, 2025, 19, 7038
7. Albumin nanocomplex of BCL-2/xL inhibitor reduced platelet toxicity and improved anticancer efficacy in myeloproliferative neoplasm and lymphoma.Hongxiang Hu, Chengyi Li, Yudong Song, Jizhao Xie, Qiuxia Li, Fang Ke, Bo Wen, Shaomeng Wang, Wei Gao, Duxin Sun. Biomaterials, 2025, 322:123347
8. Machine learning prediction of on/off target-driven clinical adverse events. Albert Cao, Luchen Zhang, Yingzi Bu, and Duxin Sun. Pharmaceutical Research, 2024, 41: 1649-1658
9. Can machine learning overcome the 95% failure rate and reality that only 30% of approved cancer drugs meaningfully extend patient survival?Duxin Sun, Christian Macedonia, Zhigang Chen, Sriram Chandrasekaran, Kayvan Najarian, Simon Zhou7, Tim Cernak, Vicki L. Ellingrod, H.V. Jagadish, Bernard Marini, Manjunath Pai, Angela Violi, Jason C. Rech, Shaomeng Wang, Yan Li1, Brian Athey, Gilbert S. Omenn. J Med Chem, 2024, 67, 16035
10. Antigen-Clustered Nanovaccine Achieves Long-Term Tumor Remission by Promoting B/CD 4 T Cell Crosstalk. Chengyi Li, Ryan Clauson, Luke F. Bugada, Bing He, Hongwei Chen, Hongxiang Hu, Polina Chuikov, Ke Fang, Brett D. Hill, Syed M. Rizvi, Yudong Song, Kai Sun, Daniel Huynh, Marilia Cascalho, Lana Garmire, Leo Yu Lei, Irina Grigorova, Fei Wen, Wei Gao, Duxin Sun.  ACS Nano 2024, 18, 13, 9584-9604
11. A gastrointestinal (GI) locally-activating Janus Kinae (JAK) inhibitor to treat ulcerative colitis. Yingzi Bu, Mohamed Dit Mady Traore, Luchen Zhang, Lu Wang, Zhongwei Liu, Duxin Sun. J Biol Chem, 2023, 299: 105467
12. CoGT: Ensemble machine learning method and its application on JAK inhibitor discovery. Yingzi Bu, Ruoxi Gao, Bohan Zhang, Luchen Zhang, and Duxin Sun. ACS Omega, 2023, 8, 14, 13232
13. Optimization of The Prodrug Moiety of Remdesivir to Improve Lung Exposure/Selectivity and Enhance Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Activity. Hongxiang Hu , Mohamed Dit Mady Traore, Ruiting Li, Hebao Yuan, Miao He, Bo Wen, Wei Gao, Colleen B Jonsson, Elizabeth A Fitzpatrick, Duxin Sun. J Med Chem, 2022, 65, 18, 12044
14. Albumin nanoparticle containing a PI3Kγ inhibitor and paclitaxel in combination with α-PD1 induces tumor remission of breast cancer in mice. Yudong Song, Luke Bugada, Ruiting Li, Hongxiang Hu, Luchen Zhang, Chengyi Li, Hebao Yuan, Krishani Rajanayake, Nathan Truchan, Fei Wen, Wei Gao, and Duxin Sun. Science Translational Medicine, 2022, 14 (643): online. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abl3649
15. Why 90% of clinical drug development fails and how to improve it? Duxin Sun, Wei Gao, Hongxiang Hu, Sison Zhou, Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, 2022, 12, 3049
16. Structure-Tissue Exposure/Selectivity Relationship (STR) Correlates with Clinical Efficacy/Safety. Wei Gao, Hongxiang Hu, Lipeng Dai, Miao He, Hebao Yuan, Huixia Zhang,  Jinhui Liao, Bo Wen, Yan Li, Maria Palmisano, Mohamed Dit Mady Traore, Simon Zhou, Duxin Sun. Acta Pharmaceutic Sinica B, 2022, 12, 2462
17. Reappraisal of anticancer nanomedicine design criteria in three types of preclinical cancer models for better clinical translation.Luan X, Yuan H, Song Y, Hu H, Wen B, He M, Zhang H, Li Y, Li F, Shu P, Burnett JP, Truchan N, Palmisano M, Pai MP, Zhou S, Gao W, Sun D. Biomaterials. 2021; 275:120910.
18. What went wrong with anticancer nanomedicine design and how to make it right. D Sun, S Zhou, W Gao. ACS nano, 2020, 14 (10), 12281-12290
19. Combined p53-and PTEN-deficiency activates expression of mesenchyme homeobox 1 (MEOX1) required for growth of triple-negative breast cancer. M Gasparyan, MC Lo, H Jiang, CC Lin, D Sun. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2020, 295 (34), 12188-12202
20. Remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19: combination of pulmonary and IV administration may offer additional benefit. D Sun. 2020, The AAPS journal 22, 1-6
21. Albumin nanoparticle of paclitaxel (abraxane) decreases while taxol increases breast cancer stem cells in treatment of triple negative breast cancer. H Yuan, H Guo, X Luan, M He, F Li, J Burnett, N Truchan, D Sun. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 2020,  17 (7), 2275-2286
22. Neonatal Fc Receptor (FcRn) Enhances Tissue Distribution and Prevents Excretion of nab-Paclitaxel. Feng Li, Hebao Yuan, Huixia Zhang, Miao He, Jinhui Liao, Nianhang Chen, Yan Li, Simon Zhou, Maria Palmisano, Alex Yu, Manjunath Pai, Duxin Sun. Molecular pharmaceutics, 2019, 16 (6), 2385-2393
23. Different Nanoformulations Alter the Tissue Distribution of Paclitaxel, Which Aligns with Reported Distinct Efficacy and Safety Profiles. Feng Li, Huixia Zhang, Miao He, Jinhui Liao, Nianhang Chen, Yan Li, Simon Zhou, Maria Palmisano, Alex Yu, Manjunath P Pai, Hebao Yuan, Duxin Sun. Molecular pharmaceutics, 2018, 15 (10), 4505-4516
24. Spatial and temporal analysis of the stomach and small-intestinal microbiota in fasted healthy humans. Anna M Seekatz, Matthew K Schnizlein, Mark J Koenigsknecht, Jason R Baker, William L Hasler, Barry E Bleske, Vincent B Young, Duxin Sun. MSphere, 2019, 4 (2), e00126-19
25. Targeting LRP8 inhibits breast cancer stem cells in triple-negative breast cancer. Chang-Ching Lin, Miao-Chia Lo, Rebecca Moody, Hui Jiang, Ramdane Harouaka, Nicholas Stevers, Samantha Tinsley, Mari Gasparyan, Max Wicha, Duxin Sun. Cancer letters, 2018, 438, 165-173
26. Mitigating SOX2-potentiated immune escape of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with a STING-inducing nanosatellite vaccine. Yee Sun Tan, Kanokwan Sansanaphongpricha, Yuying Xie, Christopher R Donnelly, Xiaobo Luo, Blake R Heath, Xinyi Zhao, Emily Bellile, Hongxiang Hu, Hongwei Chen, Peter J Polverini, Qianming Chen, Simon Young, Thomas E Carey, Jacques E Nör, Robert L Ferris, Gregory T Wolf, Duxin Sun, Yu L Lei. Clinical Cancer Research, 2018,  24 (17), 4242-4255
27. Probing the interaction between the histone methyltransferase/deacetylase subunit RBBP4/7 and the transcription factor BCL11A in epigenetic complexes. Rebecca Reed Moody, Miao-Chia Lo, Jennifer L Meagher, Chang-Ching Lin, Nicholas O Stevers, Samantha L Tinsley, Inkyung Jung, Aleksas Matvekas, Jeanne A Stuckey, Duxin Sun. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2018, 293 (6), 2125-2136
28. In Vivo Dissolution and Systemic Absorption of Immediate Release Ibuprofen in Human Gastrointestinal Tract under Fed and Fasted Conditions.Koenigsknecht MJ, Baker JR, Wen B, Frances A, Zhang H, Yu A, Zhao T, Tsume Y, Pai MP, Bleske BE, Zhang X, Lionberger R, Lee A, Amidon GL, Hasler WL, Sun D. Mol Pharm. 2017 Dec 4;14(12):4295-4304.
29. Engineering exosomes as refined biological nanoplatforms for drug delivery. X Luan, K Sansanaphongpricha, I Myers, H Chen, H Yuan, D Sun. Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, 2017,  38 (6), 754-763
30. Sulforaphane enhances the anticancer activity of taxanes against triple negative breast cancer by killing cancer stem cells. Joseph P Burnett, Gi Lim, Yanyan Li, Ronak B Shah, Rebekah Lim, Hayley J Paholak, Sean P McDermott, Lichao Sun, Yasuhiro Tsume, Shuhua Bai, Max S Wicha, Duxin Sun, Tao Zhang. Cancer Letters, 2017, 394, 52-64
31. Measurement of in vivo Gastrointestinal Release and Dissolution of Three Locally Acting Mesalamine Formulations in Regions of the Human Gastrointestinal Tract. Alex Yu, Jason R Baker, Ann F Fioritto, Ying Wang, Ruijuan Luo, Siwei Li, Bo Wen, Michael Bly, Yasuhiro Tsume, Mark J Koenigsknecht, Xinyuan Zhang, Robert Lionberger, Gordon L Amidon, William L Hasler, Duxin Sun. Molecular pharmaceutics, 2017, 14 (2), 345-358
32. Multibuilding Block Janus Synthesized by Seed‐Mediated Self‐Assembly for Enhanced Photothermal Effects and Colored Brownian Motion in an Optical Trap. Kanokwan Sansanaphongpricha, Michael C DeSantis, Hongwei Chen, Wei Cheng, Kai Sun, Bo Wen, Duxin Sun. Small, 2017, 13 (6), 1602569
33. Elimination of epithelial-like and mesenchymal-like breast cancer stem cells to inhibit metastasis following nanoparticle-mediated photothermal therapy. HJ Hayley J Paholak, Nicholas O Stevers, Hongwei Chen, Joseph P Burnett, Miao He, Hasan Korkaya, Sean P McDermott, Yadwinder Deol, Shawn G Clouthier, Tahra Luther, Qiao Li, Max S Wicha, Duxin Sun. Biomaterials, 2016,  104, 145-157
34. Novel cancer stem cell targets during epithelial to mesenchymal transition in PTEN-deficient trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer. Lichao Sun, Joseph Burnett, Mari Gasparyan, Fangying Xu, Hui Jiang, Chang-Ching Lin, Ila Myers, Hasan Korkaya, Yajing Liu, Jamie Connarn, Huining He, Ning Zhang, Max S Wicha, Duxin Sun. Oncotarget, 2016,  7 (32), 51408
35. Sulforaphane, a dietary component of broccoli/broccoli sprouts, inhibits breast cancer stem cells. Yanyan Li, Tao Zhang, Hasan Korkaya, Suling Liu, Hsiu-Fang Lee, Bryan Newman, Yanke Yu, Shawn G Clouthier, Steven J Schwartz, Max S Wicha, Duxin Sun. Clinical Cancer Research, 2010, 16 (9), 2580-2590
36. Characterization of celastrol to inhibit hsp90 and cdc37 interaction. T Zhang, Y Li, Y Yu, P Zou, Y Jiang, D Sun. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2009, 284 (51), 35381-35389
37. A novel Hsp90 inhibitor to disrupt Hsp90/Cdc37 complex against pancreatic cancer cells. T Zhang, A Hamza, X Cao, B Wang, S Yu, CG Zhan, D Sun. Molecular cancer therapeutics, 2008, 7 (1), 162-170
38. Synergistic antipancreatic tumor effect by simultaneously targeting hypoxic cancer cells with HSP90 inhibitor and glycolysis inhibitor. Xianhua Cao, Mark Bloomston, Tao Zhang, Wendy L Frankel, Guang Jia, Bing Wang, Nathan C Hall, Regina M Koch, Hao Cheng, Michael V Knopp, Duxin Sun. Clinical Cancer Research, 2008,  14 (6), 1831-1839
39. Why is it challenging to predict intestinal drug absorption and oral bioavailability in human using rat model. Xianhua Cao, Seth T Gibbs, Lanyan Fang, Heather A Miller, Christopher P Landowski, Ho-Chul Shin, Hans Lennernas, Yanqiang Zhong, Gordon L Amidon, Lawrence X Yu, Duxin Sun. Pharmaceutical research 2006, 23 (8), 1675-1686
40. Comparison of human duodenum and Caco-2 gene expression profiles for 12,000 gene sequences tags and correlation with permeability of 26 drugs. Duxin Sun, Hans Lennernas, Lynda S Welage, Jeffery L Barnett, Christopher P Landowski, David Foster, David Fleisher, Kyung-Dall Lee, Gordon L Amidon. Pharmaceutical research, 2002,  19 (10), 1400-1416