Special Interview with Prof. Yangxin Li
On March 20, 2026, the Editorial Office of The Journal of Cardiovascular Aging conducted an interview with Prof. Yangxin Li, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China. The interview was hosted by Dr. Dong Guo from Department of Cardiology, Tangdu Hospital, Airforce Medical University, China.
In this interview, Prof. Li discussed her research on cardiovascular aging, cardiac regeneration, and exosome-based therapies. She highlighted the potential roles of non-coding RNAs and stem cell-derived exosomes in preventing cardiac aging and improving heart function, while emphasizing that aging may act as a driving factor in cardiovascular diseases. She also shared insights into the challenges of translating basic research into clinical applications and offered advice to young researchers on persistence, confidence, and innovation.
Watch the full interview between Prof. Yangxin Li and Dr. Dong Guo:
Interview Questions:
Q1. Could you please briefly introduce the research work of your research group?
Q2. How do you view the role of exosomes in the information transmission process of "cardiac aging - heart failure"? Is it possible that it will become an important therapeutic target in the future?
Q3. In your research, is cardiac aging more of a "driving cause" or a "consequence" of cardiovascular disease progression? What implications does this perspective have for future intervention strategies?
Q4. From basic research to clinical translation, what do you consider the major bottlenecks in cardiovascular translational medicine today? What breakthroughs do you anticipate in the next 5–10 years?
Q5. As a leading clinician-scientist, what advice would you offer to early-career researchers who aim to build a successful career in cardiovascular research?
About Prof. Yangxin Li:
Prof. Yangxin Li is a Professor at The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China. Her core research interests include cardiovascular aging, stem cell-based cardiac repair, extracellular vesicles (exosomes), non-coding RNAs, inflammatory signaling pathways, as well as ribosome- and inflammasome-related regulatory mechanisms in cardiovascular disease. Prof. Li's work centers on elucidating how intercellular communication and RNA-mediated regulation contribute to cardiac homeostasis, aging, and repair following ischemic injury. She has published a large number of papers, including Nature Reviews Cardiology, PNAS, Cell Reports, Theranostics, and Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. Her work is widely recognized for advancing the mechanistic understanding of cardiovascular aging and for providing new insights into regenerative cardiology and translational cardiovascular therapeutics.
About Dr. Dong Guo:
Dr. Dong Guo is a physician at the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, China. Her research focuses on obesity-related cardiovascular diseases, particularly cardiac metabolic dysfunction, lipid toxicity, mitochondrial damage, and inflammatory injury in the heart. She has published multiple papers in International Journal, such as Cell Death and Differentiation, Nature Communications, Advanced Science, and Journal of Nanobiotechnology. She is the principal investigator of a National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Youth Program and an open project of a national key laboratory. She has also participated in several national and provincial research projects.
Editor: Alex Wang
Production Editor: Ting Xu
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of The Journal of Cardiovascular Aging
