Rongrong (Rocky) Fan, PhD, Group leader

Rocky got his PhD in Medical Sciences in the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2012. He joined Karolinska Institute in 2013 and became a group leader since 2019. His research focuses on how epigenetic mechanisms shape metabolic homeostasis and inflammation, and influence disease susceptibility. By integrating molecular biology, patient cohorts, and in vivo models, his work aims to uncover regulatory pathways that may serve as potential therapeutic and diagnostic targets for metabolic diseases. 

Outside the laboratory, he is a proud father of one daughter, an experience that continually provides perspective and balance to his academic life. He enjoys fishing, jogging, and playing tennis occasionally. He plays MOBI games, and he is also a long-time fan of horror movies, his favorite directors are Tim Burton and Mike Flanagan. 

Lin Chen, PhD candidate

Lin received his Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Medicine from Fudan University in 2018. He obtained qualification as a licensed surgeon in 2021 and earned his Master’s degree in Surgery from China Medical University in 2022. In the same year, he joined the laboratory as a PhD student. His research focuses on how sex chromosome-linked epigenetic enzymes regulate sex-dimorphic lipid and cholesterol metabolism in the liver, and how these mechanisms contribute to the development and progression of liver and cardiovascular metabolic disorders. Lin has strong expertise in next-generation sequencing technologies, including ChIP-seq and CUT&Tag library preparation and bioinformatic analysis. He is also experienced in mouse models of liver and cardiovascular diseases, animal experimentation and ethics, as well as core molecular biology techniques such as Western blotting and qPCR. Outside the laboratory, Lin enjoys hiking and fitness training, and he hopes to travel across Europe during his PhD studies in Sweden.

Philipp Valina Allo, PhD candidate

Philipp completed his Master’s degree at the University of Leipzig, Germany, in 2023. He joined the Fan laboratory as a research assistant in mid-2024 and continued as a PhD candidate in 2025. Philipp has a strong background in chromatin biology, His doctoral research aims to develop novel epigenetic tools to diagnose and investigate pathological mechanisms underlying liver metabolic disorders.

Outside the laboratory, Philipp is an active handball player and previously worked as a youth handball coach at TSV Klein-Auheim in Germany. He has also served as a group leader in the Catholic youth community in Klein-Auheim, reflecting his long-standing engagement in teamwork, mentoring, and community activities.

Qi Li, MD. PhD, Postdoc

Qi obtained her medical degree in Cardiology from Wuhan University in 2017 and completed her PhD in Medical Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2020. After completing her clinical training between 2020 and 2022, she joined the Fan group as a postdoctoral researcher. Qi has strong expertise in statistics and applies epidemiological and bioinformatic approaches to investigate epigenetic mechanisms regulating enhancer and silencer remodeling in human tissues. In collaboration with Ziyi Li, she aims to systematically map and validate functional enhancers and silencers across diverse human tissues, contributing to a better understanding of epigenetic regulation in health and disease.

Ziyi Li, PhD candidate

Ziyi got her Master of Biomedicine at Lund University in 2022. She joined the Fan laboratory in 2024 as a PhD candidate. She is a strong molecular biologist. During her PhD study, she plans to develop and apply multiple advanced molecular biological techniques to study the functionality of non-coding genomic regulatory regions in multiple human tissues and explore their involvement in the progression of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. Ziyi is a big fan of multi-player shooting MOBI games. She is also a professional badminton player.