Neuroimaging and genetics
Integrating multimodal neuroimaging and genetics to decode neuroimmune disorders
Dr Jie Sun is an Associate Chief Physician in the Radiology Department at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital and a Master Supervisor at Tianjin Medical University. Her research sits at the intersection of neuroimaging, genetics, and clinical neurology, with a primary focus on multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Her work aims to understand the genetic and molecular foundations of brain structural and functional alterations in these conditions.
Dr Sun’s methodological toolkit includes multimodal MRI analysis (structural, diffusion, resting-state fMRI, and QSM), Mendelian randomisation, and imaging-genetics integration. She applies these approaches to large-scale and multi-center datasets to uncover biomarkers for disease subtyping, predict progression, and explore genetic mechanisms underlying cognitive outcomes. She is an active research member of the Chinese Multi-center Neuroimmune Clinical Imaging Consortium and the Chinese Imaging Genetics (CHIMGEN) consortium.
Research Skills
- Brain morphometry and cortical thickness analysis
- Resting-state fMRI and functional connectivity
- Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tractography
- Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM)
- Mendelian randomization and genetic association analyses
Area of Interest
- Imaging-genetics and causal inference
- Brain structural-functional coupling
- Biomarker discovery for disease progression of neuroimmune disorders
Professional Associations
• Youth Member, Professional Committee of Precision Medicine for Gastrointestinal Tumors, Tianjin Integrative Medicine Society
• Member, China Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics
• Committee Member, The Second Professional Committee of Multidisciplinary Diagnosis and Treatment for Lung Tumors, Tianjin Medical and Health Association
• Research Member, Chinese Multi-center Neuroimmune Clinical Imaging Consortium
• Research Member, Chinese Imaging Genetics (CHIMGEN) Consortium
Funding
• Chronic Disease Management Research Project, Capacity Building and Continuing Education Center, National Health Commission-Qihang Project (GWJJMB202510025082): "Integrating multimodal neuroimaging and brain spatial transcriptomics to construct a clinical subtype classification model for multiple sclerosis," 2025-2026, ¥10,000, ongoing, Principal Investigator.
• National Natural Science Foundation of China – Youth Project (No. 82302157): "Genetic mechanisms of multiple sclerosis susceptibility genes regulating thalamic volume and cognitive function changes," 2024-2026, ¥300,000, ongoing, Principal Investigator.
• Tianjin Municipal Health Commission-Youth Project (No. TJWJ2023QN037): "Multimodal neuroimaging-gene expression combined analysis on the mechanism of brain damage in multiple sclerosis," 2023-2026, ¥50,000, ongoing, Principal Investigator.
• Tianjin Education Commission-General Project of Scientific Research Program (No. 2022KJ234): "Magnetic resonance multimodal and genetic mechanisms of cerebellar subregion injury in multiple sclerosis patients," 2022–2024, ¥60,000, completed, Principal Investigator.
Research Projects
Current Research Projects
Multimodal neuroimaging-gene expression integration in MS
Genes associated with GMV reduction in MS
Morphometric similarity in MS and NMOSD
Publications
1. Jie Sun#, Yingying Xie#, Ningnannan Zhang#, Jingliang Cheng, Meiyun Wang, Bing Zhang, Wenzhen Zhu, Hui Zhang, Shijun Qiu, Xiaojun Xu, Yongqiang Yu, Tong Han, Zuojun Geng, Weihua Liao, Bo Gao, Wen Qin, Feng Liu, Meng Liang, Qiang Xu, Jilian Fu, Jiayuan Xu, Mengge Liu, Peng Zhang, Wei Li, Dapeng Shi, Caihong Wang, Xi-Nian Zuo, Quan Zhang, Feng Chen, Jiance Li, Zhihan Yan, Wen Shen, Yanwei Miao, Junfang Xian, Longjiang Zhang, Kai Xu, Zhaoxiang Ye, Jing Zhang, Guangbin Cui, Chunshui Yu*, CHIMGEN Consortium. Nonacademic Predictors of China Medical Licensing Examination. BMC medical education. 2025; 25(1):65.
2. Jie Sun#, Yingying Xie#, Tongli Li#, Yunfei Zhao, Wenjin Zhao, Zeyang Yu, Shaoying Wang, Yujie Zhang, Hui Xue, Yayuan Chen, Zuhao Sun, Zhang Zhang, Yaou Liu*, Ningnannan Zhang*, Feng Liu*; Causal relationships of grey matter structures in multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: insights from Mendelian randomization. Brain Communications. 2024, 6(5):fcae308.
3. Jie Sun#, Wenjin Zhao#, Yingying Xie#, Fuqing Zhou, Lin Wu, Yuxin Li, Haiqing Li, Yongmei Li, Chun Zeng, Xuemei Han, Yaou Liu*, Ningnannan Zhang*; Personalized estimates of morphometric similarity in multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, Neuroimage: clinical. 2023; 39:103454.