Amy Lin, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

My clinical interests are in cardiology and cardio-oncology, which the care of cancer patients and preventing and managing cardiovascular issues that can arise from cancer therapies. My special interests include survivorship, including breast and prostate cancer, and clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential or CHIP (mutations in stem cells of the blood) leading to cardiovascular disease. At UCSF, I am part of the Cardio-Oncology and Immunology Program.

RESEARCH INTERESTS My research interests are in cardio-oncology, with focus on inflammation in cardiovascular disease and how CHIP can increase a patient’s risks for heart disease, heart failure and arrhythmias. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, or CHIP is an age-associated process, where mutations in a certain subset of genes, drives the selection and survival of clonal blood cell populations. CHIP is common, occurring in more than 10% of individuals over the age of 70 years, and as expected, is associated with the increased risk of blood cancers, including MDS, and leukemia. Emerging research has highlighted the association of CHIP and precursor disorders with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Individuals with CHIP have a 2-4-fold increased risk of cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, independent of traditional CVD risk factors, similar to the degree of risk conferred by smoking, hypertension, or elevated cholesterol. The genetic mutations underlying clonal hematopoiesis may contribute to an increase in inflammation and other processes that affect the health of heart tissue and blood vessels. My recent research work demonstrated individuals with CHIP are at increased risk of incident atrial fibrillation, associated with increased inflammasome activation.

• TET2-mutant clonal hematopoiesis and risk of gout.
  Blood 2022 Agrawal M, Niroula A, Cunin P, McConkey M, Shkolnik V, Kim PG, Wong WJ, Weeks LD, Lin AE, Miller PG, Gibson CJ, Sekar A, Schaefer IM, Neuberg D, Stone RM, Bick AG, Uddin MM, Griffin GK, Jaiswal S, …
• Degradation of GSPT1 causes TP53-independent cell death in leukemia while sparing normal hematopoietic stem cells.
  The Journal of clinical investigation 2022 Sellar RS, Sperling AS, Slabicki M, Gasser JA, McConkey ME, Donovan KA, Mageed N, Adams DN, Zou C, Miller PG, Dutta RK, Boettcher S, Lin AE, Sandoval B, Quevedo Barrios VA, Kovalcik V, Koeppel J, …
• Clonal Hematopoiesis: Confluence of Malignant and Nonmalignant Diseases
  Annual Review of Cancer Biology 2022 Amy E. Lin, Philipp J. Rauch, Siddhartha Jaiswal, Benjamin L. Ebert
• Dnmt3a-mutated clonal hematopoiesis promotes osteoporosis.
  The Journal of experimental medicine 2021 Kim PG, Niroula A, Shkolnik V, McConkey M, Lin AE, Slabicki M, Kemp JP, Bick A, Gibson CJ, Griffin G, Sekar A, Brooks DJ, Wong WJ, Cohen DN, Uddin MM, Shin WJ, Pirruccello J, Tsai JM, Agrawal M, Kiel …
• Author Correction: Inherited causes of clonal haematopoiesis in 97,691 whole genomes.
  Nature 2021 Bick AG, Weinstock JS, Nandakumar SK, Fulco CP, Bao EL, Zekavat SM, Szeto MD, Liao X, Leventhal MJ, Nasser J, Chang K, Laurie C, Burugula BB, Gibson CJ, Niroula A, Lin AE, Taub MA, Aguet F, Ardlie K, …
• Inherited causes of clonal haematopoiesis in 97,691 whole genomes.
  Nature 2020 Bick AG, Weinstock JS, Nandakumar SK, Fulco CP, Bao EL, Zekavat SM, Szeto MD, Liao X, Leventhal MJ, Nasser J, Chang K, Laurie C, Burugula BB, Gibson CJ, Lin AE, Taub MA, Aguet F, Ardlie K, Mitchell BD…
• The Clinical Challenge of Clonal Hematopoiesis, a Newly Recognized Cardiovascular Risk Factor.
  JAMA cardiology 2020 Sidlow R, Lin AE, Gupta D, Bolton KL, Steensma DP, Levine RL, Ebert BL, Libby P
• A new opening on aortic stenosis: predicting prognosis with clonal haematopoiesis.
  European heart journal 2020 Lin AE, Libby P, Ebert BL
• Clonal Hematopoiesis: Crossroads of Aging, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer: JACC Review Topic of the Week.
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2019 Libby P, Sidlow R, Lin AE, Gupta D, Jones LW, Moslehi J, Zeiher A, Jaiswal S, Schulz C, Blankstein R, Bolton KL, Steensma D, Levine RL, Ebert BL
• CHIPping Away at the Pathogenesis of Heart Failure.
  JAMA cardiology 2019 Libby P, Jaiswal S, Lin AE, Ebert BL
• Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 Modulates Cbl-b and Constrains T Cell Activation.
  Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 2017 Tran CW, Saibil SD, Le Bihan T, Hamilton SR, Lang KS, You H, Lin AE, Garza KM, Elford AR, Tai K, Parsons ME, Wigmore K, Vainberg MG, Penninger JM, Woodgett JR, Mak TW, Ohashi PS
• ARIH2 is essential for embryogenesis, and its hematopoietic deficiency causes lethal activation of the immune system.
  Nature immunology 2012 Lin AE, Ebert G, Ow Y, Preston SP, Toe JG, Cooney JP, Scott HW, Sasaki M, Saibil SD, Dissanayake D, Kim RH, Wakeham A, You-Ten A, Shahinian A, Duncan G, Silvester J, Ohashi PS, Mak TW, Pellegrini M
• IL-7 engages multiple mechanisms to overcome chronic viral infection and limit organ pathology.
  Cell 2011 Pellegrini M, Calzascia T, Toe JG, Preston SP, Lin AE, Elford AR, Shahinian A, Lang PA, Lang KS, Morre M, Assouline B, Lahl K, Sparwasser T, Tedder TF, Paik JH, DePinho RA, Basta S, Ohashi PS, Mak TW
• Adjuvant IL-7 antagonizes multiple cellular and molecular inhibitory networks to enhance immunotherapies.
  Nature medicine 2009 Pellegrini M, Calzascia T, Elford AR, Shahinian A, Lin AE, Dissanayake D, Dhanji S, Nguyen LT, Gronski MA, Morre M, Assouline B, Lahl K, Sparwasser T, Ohashi PS, Mak TW
• The role of E3 ligases in autoimmunity and the regulation of autoreactive T cells.
  Current opinion in immunology 2007 Lin AE, Mak TW