Yuan Wen, PhD-MD
Connect
(859) 218-7185ywen2@uky.edu
Positions
- Assistant Professor
College Unit(s)
Other Affiliation(s)
- Internal Medicine - Biomedical Informatics
Biography and Education
Biography
Yuan Wen completed a BA and MS at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his MD and PhD at the University of Kentucky, where he subsequently joined the faculty. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology with a joint appointment in Internal Medicine (Biomedical Informatics). Dr. Wen's research integrates skeletal muscle molecular biology with computational and AI methods, spanning ribosome biology and epitranscriptomics, muscle aging and regeneration, and multi-omics data integration. He also develops AI-powered medical imaging tools, including automated analysis of muscle ultrasound.
Education
BA/MS, University of Pennsylvania
MD/PhD, University of Kentucky
Summary:
Hometown: LexingtonResearch
Focus of the laboratory
The Wen lab studies the molecular regulation of skeletal muscle health across exercise, injury, and aging, combining ribosome profiling, epitranscriptomics, and single-cell multi-omics with machine learning and AI-powered medical imaging.
Current ongoing projects in the lab
- Role of ribosome biology and RNA modifications (epitranscriptomics) in skeletal muscle protein synthesis and adaptation.
- Myonuclear transcriptional and epigenetic reprogramming following musculoskeletal trauma.
- Single-nucleus multi-omic integration (snRNA + snATAC) of skeletal muscle and adipose responses to dietary intervention.
- Development of AI-powered muscle ultrasound analysis for clinical and research assessment of muscle quality.
Selected Publications
Burke BI, Valentino TR, Ismaeel A, El-Amouri S, Goh J, Scott L, Walton BJ, Joshi J, Wood C, Burrows-Franco A, May J, Johnson LA, Flythe M, Wen Y and McCarthy JJ. Exercise-Associated Microbial Metabolites Prevent Skeletal Muscle Atrophy in Adult Female Mice. Nature Communications. 2026 (In Press)
Brown LP, Joshi J, Kosmac K, Long DE, Scott L, El-Amouri S, Montgomery-Yates AA, Kalema AG, Sturgill JL, Vekaria H, Sullivan PG, Wilburn D, Koutakis P, Latham CM, Fry CS, Kern PA, Miller BF, Dupont-Versteegden EE, Ismaeel A, Mayer KP, Wen Y. Soluble IL-2R: A potential therapeutic target for mitochondrial dysfunction in post-COVID fatigue syndrome. Clinical Translational Medicine. 2025
Rivera ZC, Gonzalez-Seguel F, Horikawa-Strakovsky A, Granger C, Sarwal A, Dhar S, Ntoumenopoulos G, Chen J, Bumgardner VKC, Parry SM, Mayer KP, Wen Y. Development of an artificial intelligence powered software for automated analysis of skeletal muscle ultrasonography. Scientific Reports. 2025
Burke BI, Ismaeel A, Long DE, Depa LA, Coburn PT, Goh J, Saliu TP, Walton BJ, Vechetti IJ, Valentino TR, Mobley CB, Memetimin H, Wang D, Finlin BS, Kern PA, Peterson CA, McCarthy JJ and Wen Y. Extracellular Vesicle miR-1 Delivery from Skeletal Muscle to Adipose Tissue Modifies Lipolytic Pathways in Response to Resistance Exercise in Humans. JCI Insight. 2024
Ismaeel A, Valentino TR, Burke B, Goh J, Saliu TP, Albathi F, Owen A, McCarthy JJ, Wen Y. Acetate and succinate benefit host muscle energetics as exercise-associated post-biotics. Physiological Reports. 2023