Dandan Sun holds an MD from Harbin Medical University and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently a Professor of Neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She is also the Elected Fellow of the American Heart Association, and a member of the American Physiological Society, the Society for Neuroscience, and the Society for the Cerebral Blood Flow, Metabolism & Function. She was a Post-Doctorate Fellow in Pharmacology at Northwestern University and a Post-Doctorate Fellow in Human Physiology at the University of California. She was awarded the Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association National Center and the CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. Her research interests focus on studying the roles of ion transporter proteins, such as Na-K-Cl cotransporters, Na/Ca exchangers, and Na/H exchangers, in ionic dysregulation and neurodegeneration in experimental models of ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, and glioblastoma. The ion transporter proteins are pathologically stimulated under these disease conditions. The dysregulated ion transport function further interrupts the cellular and metabolic equilibrium. Her lab is investigating the underlying mechanisms and modulating ion transport protein function as a novel therapeutic strategy for these brain disorders.