主要研究髓系细胞致病机理、以及靶向药物的设计、筛选和开发。髓系细胞调控先天免疫、组织稳态和炎症反应，其功能异常可驱动炎症性疾病和肿瘤的发生发展。解析其病理机制有助于精准医学和免疫治疗的突破。迄今，发表SCI论文16篇，其中第一/通讯作者13篇。获批中国专利1项，参与美国专利1项。代表性研究结果发表在Gut、Science advances、Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology、Journal of Neuroinflammation、The Journal of Immunology等杂志。目前主持安徽医科大学人才启动基金项目1项。

1. 孙蕊2025引进人才科研启动经费，2025.4-2030.4，主持

1. Haowu Jiang, Rui Sun. The Potential Role of Intestinal Macrophages in the Gut-Brain Axis. Human Brain, 2024, 3(2): 1-27. 

2. Rui Sun, Haowu Jiang. Border-associated Macrophages in the Central Nervous System. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 2024, 21(1): 67.

3. Rui Sun, Rowland Han, Colin McCornack, Saad Khan, G Travis Tabor, Yun Chen, Jinchao Hou, Haowu Jiang, Kathleen M. Schoch, Diane D. Mao, Ryan Cleary, Alicia Yang, Qin Liu, Jingqin Luo, Allegra Petti, Timothy M. Miller, Jason D. Ulrich, David M. Holtzman, Albert H. Kim. TREM2 inhibition triggers antitumor cell activity of myeloid cells in glioblastoma. Science Advances, 2023, 9(19): eade3559.

4. Rui Sun, Albert H. Kim. The multifaceted mechanisms of malignant glioblastoma progression and clinical implications. Cancer and Metastasis Reviews, 2022, 41(4): 871-898.

5. Rui Sun, Matija Hedl, Clara Abraham. IL23 induces IL23R recycling and amplifies innate receptor-induced signalling and cytokines in human macrophages, and the IBD-protective IL23R R381Q variant modulates these outcomes. Gut, 2020, 69(2): 264-273.

6. Rui Sun, Matija Hedl, Clara Abraham. TNFSF15 Promotes Antimicrobial Pathways in Human Macrophages and These Are Modulated by TNFSF15 Disease-Risk Variants. Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2021, 11(1): 249-272.

7. Rui Sun, Clara Abraham. IL23 Promotes Antimicrobial Pathways in Human Macrophages, Which Are Reduced With the IBD-Protective IL23R R381Q Variant. Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2020, 10(4): 673-697.

8. * Matija Hedl, * Rui Sun, Clara Abraham. Disease Risk–Associated Genetic Variants in STAT1 and STAT4 Function in a Complementary Manner to Increase Pattern-Recognition Receptor–Induced Outcomes in Human Macrophages. The Journal of Immunology, 2020, 205(5): 1406-1418.

9. Rui Sun, Matija Hedl, Clara Abraham. Twist1 and Twist2 induce human macrophage memory upon chronic innate receptor treatment by HDAC-mediated deacetylation of cytokine promoters. The Journal of Immunology, 2019, 202(11): 3297-3308. (This article is featured in In This Issue, p.3123).

10. Matija Hedl, Rui Sun, Chen Huang, Clara Abraham. STAT3 and STAT5 signaling thresholds determine distinct regulation for innate receptor–induced inflammatory cytokines, and STAT3/STAT5 disease variants modulate these outcomes. The Journal of Immunology, 2019, 203(12): 3325-3338.

11. Haowu Jiang, Huan Cui, Tao Wang, Steven G Shimada, Rui Sun, Zhiyong Tan, Chao Ma, Robert H LaMotte. CCL2/CCR2 signaling elicits itch- and pain-[like] behavior in a murine model of allergic contact dermatitis. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2019, 80: 464-473.