Highlights of Hope Spring/Summer 23

Dr. Zheng Ruan earns prestigious
K99 grant, the first in VAI’s history
Earning one’s first federal grant is a major milestone in a
scientist’s career. Not only do these grants provide vital funding,
but they also demonstrate the promise and innovation of
research projects.
Among the most prestigious of these early grants is a K99/R00
from the National Institutes of Health, which provides support
throughout the transition to a scientist’s first independent
research position.
In 2022, Dr. Zheng Ruan, a postdoctoral fellow in the labs of VAI’s
Dr. Juan Du and Dr. Wei Lü, earned the first K99/R00 award in the
Institute’s 26-year history. Ruan is a structural biologist, a scientist
who uses cutting-edge technology to visualize the tiny molecules
responsible for our health and, when things go wrong, for disease.
Specifically, Ruan investigates how our cells sense and respond to
changes in acid levels in the body. Too much acid can have severe
consequences and contribute to a host of health conditions, such
as stroke.
Ruan hopes to reveal new insights into this important process and
set the stage for new strategies to prevent and treat disorders
caused by acid accumulation.
Read more at vai.org/zheng-ruan-k99.
Ruan is supported in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke under
award no. K99NS128258. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not
necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
“The ability to understand how various
molecules in our body work makes me
feel that I’m an explorer and always
headed to the unknown. Being able to
discover something that no one else
knows in the world and expand the
uncharted knowledge of human beings
is a wonderful thing to do. I feel very
fortunate to be able to do what I truly
enjoy and find meaningful.”
— Dr. Zheng Ruan
VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE HIGHLIGHTS OF HOPE | 3