Dulguun Amgalan, PhD

About me

I’m a postdoctoral researcher in the Engreitz lab at Stanford University, Department of Genetics. My research bridges basic and translational science, leveraging cutting-edge molecular technologies to unravel the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying complex human diseases. With over a decade of experience in molecular and cellular biology, my work has been published in top-tier journals such as Nature, Nature Cancer, Nature Chemical Biology, and Circulation.

In my current postdoctoral work, I focus on deciphering how cis-regulatory elements, such as enhancers, govern gene expression and how genetic variations influence these regulatory processes. I apply single-cell multi-omics techniques, including RNA-seq and ATAC-seq, alongside computational modeling, to create comprehensive genome-wide maps of enhancer-gene interactions across diverse cell types, states, and dynamic cellular trajectories using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as a model system. I use these maps to predict the functions of candidate disease variants and perform high-throughput CRISPR perturbation screens to dissect the roles of variants, regulatory elements, and genes.

During my doctoral research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, I investigated the molecular mechanisms behind cardiomyopathies induced by cancer treatment. Through a combination of biochemical, cellular, and in vivo mouse model approaches, I identified inhibition of the mitochondrial cell death protein BAX as a promising therapeutic strategy to safeguard the heart from the harmful effects of chemotherapy. This pioneering work culminated in the development of a first-in-class small molecule inhibitor targeting BAX, a protein once deemed ''undruggable.''

I aim to apply advanced technologies to address complex biological questions and drive therapeutic innovation. Let’s connect to explore opportunities for collaboration and scientific advancement!

Journal articles

The Impact of Genomic Variation on Function (IGVF) Consortium

IGVF Consortium

Nature | 2024

Gasdermin D permeabilization of mitochondrial inner and outer membranes accelerates and enhances pyroptosis

Rui Miao, Cong Jiang, Winston Y Chang, Haiwei Zhang, Jinsu An, Felicia Ho, Pengcheng Chen, Han Zhang, Caroline Junqueira, Dulguun Amgalan, Felix G Liang, Junbing Zhang, Charles L Evavold, Iva Hafner-Bratkovič, Zhibin Zhang, Pietro Fontana, Shiyu Xia, Markus Waldeck-Weiermair, Youdong Pan, Thomas Michel, Liron Bar-Peled, Hao Wu, Jonathan C Kagan, Richard N Kitsis, Peng Zhang, Xing Liu, Judy Lieberman

Immunity | 2023

Genetic determinants of the interventricular septum are linked to ventricular septal defects and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Mengyao Yu, Andrew R Harper, Matthew Aguirre, Maureen Pittman, Catherine Tcheandjieu, Dulguun Amgalan, Christopher Grace, Anuj Goel, Martin Farrall, Ke Xiao, Jesse Engreitz, Katherine S Pollard, Hugh Watkins, James R Priest

Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine | 2023

Oligogenic Architecture of Rare Noncoding Variants Distinguishes 4 Congenital Heart Disease Phenotypes

Mengyao Yu, Matthew Aguirre, Meiwen Jia, Ketrin Gjoni, Aldo Cordova-Palomera, Chad Munger, Dulguun Amgalan, X Rosa Ma, Alexandre Pereira, Catherine Tcheandjieu, Christine Seidman, Jonathan Seidman, Martin Tristani-Firouzi, Wendy Chung, Elizabeth Goldmuntz, Deepak Srivastava, Ruth JF Loos, Nathalie Chami, Heather Cordell, Martina Dreßen, Bertram Mueller-Myhsok, Harald Lahm, Markus Krane, Katherine S Pollard, Jesse M Engreitz, Sarah A Gagliano Taliun, Bruce D Gelb, James R Priest

Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine | 2023

Computational estimates of annular diameter reveal genetic determinants of mitral valve function and disease

Mengyao Yu, Catherine Tcheandjieu, Adrien Georges, Ke Xiao, Helio Tejeda, Christian Dina, Thierry Le Tourneau, Madalina Fiterau, Renae Judy, Noah L Tsao, Dulguun Amgalan, Chad J Munger, Jesse M Engreitz, Scott M Damrauer, Nabila Bouatia-Naji, James R Priest

JCI insight | 2022

A small-molecule allosteric inhibitor of BAX protects against doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy

Dulguun Amgalan, Thomas P Garner, Ryan Pekson, Xiaotong F Jia, Mounica Yanamandala, Victor Paulino, Felix G Liang, J Jose Corbalan, Jaehoon Lee, Yun Chen, George S Karagiannis, Luis Rivera Sanchez, Huizhi Liang, Swathi-Rao Narayanagari, Kelly Mitchell, Andrea Lopez, Victoria Margulets, Marco Scarlata, Gaetano Santulli, Aarti Asnani, Randall T Peterson, Rachel B Hazan, John S Condeelis, Maja H Oktay, Ulrich Steidl, Lorrie A Kirshenbaum, Evripidis Gavathiotis, Richard N Kitsis

Nature cancer | 2020

ATG16L1 autophagy pathway regulates BAX protein levels and programmed cell death

Fenfen Chen, Dulguun Amgalan, Richard N Kitsis, Jeffrey E Pessin, Daorong Feng

Journal of Biological Chemistry | 2020

Fundamental mechanisms of regulated cell death and implications for heart disease

Dominic P Del Re*, Dulguun Amgalan*, Andreas Linkermann, Qinghang Liu, Richard N Kitsis (*co-first authors)

Physiological reviews | 2019

Small-molecule allosteric inhibitors of BAX

Thomas P Garner, Dulguun Amgalan, Denis E Reyna, Sheng Li, Richard N Kitsis, Evripidis Gavathiotis

Nature chemical biology | 2019

A mouse model for the most common form of heart failure

Dulguun Amgalan, Richard N Kitsis

Nature | 2019

SNAP23 regulates BAX-dependent adipocyte programmed cell death independently of canonical macroautophagy

Daorong Feng, Dulguun Amgalan, Rajat Singh, Jianwen Wei, Jennifer Wen, Tszki Peter Wei, Timothy E McGraw, Richard N Kitsis, Jeffrey E Pessin

The Journal of Clinical Investigation | 2018

An Akt3 splice variant lacking the serine 472 phosphorylation site promotes apoptosis and suppresses mammary tumorigenesis

Kimita Suyama, Jiahong Yao, Huizhi Liang, Outhiriaradjou Benard, Olivier D Loudig, Dulguun Amgalan, Wendy M McKimpson, Greg R Phillips, Jeffrey Segall, Yihong Wang, Susan Fineberg, Larry Norton, Richard N Kitsis, Rachel B Hazan

Cancer research | 2018

Grounding cardio-oncology in basic and clinical science

Javid Moslehi, Dulguun Amgalan, Richard N Kitsis

Circulation | 2017

Death receptor signaling in the heart: cell survival, apoptosis, and necroptosis

Dulguun Amgalan, Yun Chen, Richard N Kitsis

Circulation | 2017

Troponin release following brief myocardial ischemia: apoptosis versus necrosis

Dulguun Amgalan, Ryan Pekson, Richard N Kitsis

Basic to Translational Science | 2017