Dr Sun is a Professor and the Director of Rheumatology Department at the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Chief Scientist of the national major research and development program.

His research interests focus on the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, with a particular emphasis on lupus and the therapeutic effects of stem cell on these diseases. In recent years, he has been extensively studying mesenchymal stem cells and their application in lupus treatment. Since 2007, his team has successfully treated over1700 patients with lupus and other autoimmune diseases through allogenic mesenchymal stem cell transplantation. He has undertaken a total of 28 national science projects, including major international cooperation projects and key projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation.

Dr Sun has published 554 papers in peer-reviewed Chinese and international journals, including Cell Stem Cell, Immunity, Nature Communications, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, and Gut. His research achievements on mesenchymal stem cells have garnered him 21 prizes, including the second Prize of National Technology Invention, the first Prize of Jiangsu Province Science and Technology Progress, the second prize of Chinese Medicine, and the second Prize of Science and Technology Progress of the Ministry of Education.