Fei He is an Associate professor at the Glycochemistry and Glycobiology Lab and Carbohydrate Drug Research Center, She is also a master’s thesis advisor. She earned her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (under the supervision of Researcher Ding Kan) in 2021. From 2021 to 2023, she completed her postdoctoral training at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica. She has served as an Associate Professor at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, since October 2023.My research focuses primarily on the functional mechanisms of heparin sulfate synthases in metabolic diseases and tumors; the pharmacological mechanisms and structure-activity relationships underlying the target-specific effects of polysaccharide components derived from traditional Chinese medicine in major complex diseases; and the development of innovative carbohydrate-based drugs. Over the past five years, 14 research papers on these topics have been published in high-impact journals such as J. Hepatol., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., J. Am. Chem. Soc., and Carbohydr. Polym. Among these, 10 were research-oriented SCI papers where the author served as first or corresponding author (including co-authorship). Additionally, five national invention patents have been filed, and the author has facilitated the technological transfer of one Class I new drug derived from traditional Chinese medicine polysaccharides.
Research Areas
1. Identification of Carbohydrate-modifying enzymes as novel drug targets for anticancer therapies and liver-related metabolic diseases;
2. Research on the structure and function of active sites in targeted traditional Chinese medicine polysaccharides and oligosaccharides, as well as their structure-activity relationships and pharmacological mechanisms.
Education
1. 2012.09-2016.06, China Pharmaceutical University, Pharmacy (National Training Base for Life Sciences and Technology), Bachelor of Science.
2. 2016.09-2021.06,, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Pharmacology, Doctor of Philosophy.
Experience
Work Experience
1. 2021.07-2023.09, Postdoctoral Researcher, Pharmaceutical Research Station, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences
2. 2023.10-–Present, Associate Professor, the Glycochemistry and Glycobiology Lab and Carbohydrate Drug Research Center, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Publications
Papers
1. He F#, Jiang H#, Peng C, Wang T, Xiao R, Chen M, Song N, Du Z, Wang H, Ding X, Shao Y, Fang J, Zang Y, Hua R*, Li J*, Ding K*. Hepatic glucuronyl C5-epimerase combats obesity by stabilizing GDF15, Journal of Hepatology, 2023 Sep;79(3):605-617. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2023.05.011.
2. Wang Z, Jiang Y, Wang Y, Wu S, Zhang S, Jin C, He F*, Ding K*. A sulfated pectin polysaccharide from Chrysanthemum morifolium induces ferroptosis in pancreatic cancer by stabilizing TFRC. Carbohydrate Polymers. 2026 Jun 1;381:125224. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2026.125224.
3. He F#, Zhang S#, Li Y, Chen X, Du Z, Ding K*. The structure elucidation of novel arabinogalactan LRP1-S2 against pancreatic cancer cells growth in vitro and in vivo. Carbohydrate Polymers, 2021.267: 118172. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118172.
4. Cai D#, He F#, Wu S#, Wang Z, Bian Y, Wen C, Ding K*. Functional structural domain synthesis of anti-pancreatic carcinoma pectin-like polysaccharide RN1. Carbohydrate Polymers, 2024 Mar 1;327:121668. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121668.
5. Chen M.#, Zong J.#, He F#,*, Wanqi Zhou, Renjie Liu, Haoran Xia, Mengfei Mao, Can Jin, Kaiping Wang, Kan Ding*, Structural elucidation of an active arabinoglucan from Gomphrena globosa and its protection effect and mechanism against metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, Carbohydrate Polymers, 2025 Jan 15;348(Pt B):122860. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122860..
6. Rongrong Xiao#, Wanqi Zhou#, Junfeng Peng, Simin Cai, Jianhao Xie, Wenfeng Liao, Saijuan Li, Kan Ding*, He F*. AJDW, polysaccharide from Albizia julibrissin, binds to PI3K and induces cell cycle arrest and ROS-mediated pancreatic cancer cell apoptosis, Glycoscience & Therapy, 2025, 100003, ISSN 3050-6085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glycos.2025.100003.
7. Zhang S#, He F#, Chen X, K. Ding*. Isolation and Structural Characterization of a Pectin from Lycium Ruthenicum Murr and Its Anti-Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Cell Activity. Carbohydrate Polymers, 2019. 223: 115104. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.115104.
8. Liu S, He F*, Jin C, Li Q, Zhao G*, Ding K*. Design and Synthesis of Dual Galectin-3 and EGFR Inhibitors Against Liver Fibrosis.Chemistry-an Asian Journal, 2024 Nov 6:e202401078. doi: 10.1002/asia.202401078.
9. Xu Y#, He F#,*, Jin C, Su J, Ding K*, Stachyose with effect on anti-angiogenic activity from Salvia yunnanensis, Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 112, 2024, 105971, ISSN 1756-4646. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2023.105971.
10. Hu C, He F, Wu R, Zhou W, Ma W, Hao T, Cai P, Ye F, Xu Z, Zhou H, Wang P, Ding K*, Li T*. Precision Synthesis and Antiliver Fibrosis Activity of a Highly Branched Acidic 63-Mer Pectin Polysaccharide. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 2025 Mar 12;147(10):8422-8432. doi: 10.1021/jacs.4c16491.
11. Hu C, Wu S, He F, Cai D, Xu Z, Ma W, Liu Y, Wei B, Li T*, Ding K*. Convergent Synthesis and Anti-Pancreatic Cancer Cell Growth Activity of a Highly Branched Heptadecasaccharide from Carthamus tinctorius. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022; 61(32): e202202554. doi: 10.1002/anie.202202554.
12. Xie J, Su J, Zhou W, Cai S, Liao W, Zong J, Peng J, Qu H, He F*, Ding K*. A dual-target pectin-like polysaccharide LRP01B from Lamiophlomis rotata induces pancreatic cancer cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo by causing mitochondrial dysfunction. Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Aug 30:147227.12. doi: 10.1016/S1875-5364(26)61093-X.
Honors & Distinctions
1. Second Prize, Guizhou Provincial Natural Science Award (6/7)
2. Sanofi-Shanghai Institute of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences Outstanding Young Talent Award
3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Outstanding Student Leader
4. Shanghai Outstanding Graduate
5. Chinese Academy of Sciences Diao First Prize Scholarship
6. Special Prize for Outstanding Young Research Paper Presentation, Oriental Medicine Theory Forum