Research
Astrocyte development and the roles of astrocytes in diseases
Appointments
- Assistant Professor
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
Biography
Astrocytes constitute at least a third of all cells in human brains. Long thought to be passive support cells, astrocytes are recently found to be critical for the development and function of the central nervous system. Accumulating evidence show that astrocytes are involved in almost every type of neurological and psychiatric disorder.
The cellular and molecular mechanisms that control astrocyte development as well as dysfunction of astrocytes in neurological and psychiatric disorders remains poorly understood.
We combine cell culture and mouse genetic approaches to study the following questions:
- What signals regulate astrocyte maturation?
- How is astrocyte differentiation regulated?
- Can we improve treatment of glioblastoma by studying astrocyte development?
- Are astrocytes involved in intellectual disability and autism?
Publications
- Wang, Z, Wu, T, Li, J, Dong, G, Kong, L, Zhang, Y et al.. Gut microbiota alterations in sleep disturbances: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2026;88 :102293. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2026.102293. PubMed PMID:42030610 .
- Wu, M, Zhang, Y, Zhang, W, Li, C, Zhu, C, Zhang, S et al.. Temperature rise mechanism and loss model analysis in a MEMS micro traveling-wave motor. Ultrasonics. 2026;165 :108069. doi: 10.1016/j.ultras.2026.108069. PubMed PMID:42030587 .
- Li, W, Miao, X, Liu, L, Zhang, Y, Jin, X, Luo, X et al.. Retraction: Methylation-mediated silencing of microRNA-211 promotes cell growth and epithelial to mesenchymal transition through activation of the AKT/β-catenin pathway in GBM. Oncotarget. 2026;17 (1):. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.28840. PubMed PMID:42030571 .
- Liu, MH, Wang, XY, Jiang, S, Zhao, NN, Hu, YH, Liu, Y et al.. A Single lncRNA-Initiated Multiple Rolling Circle Amplification Based on Proximity Hybridization for One-Step Ratiometric Fluorescence Detection of lncRNAs in Breast Cancer. Anal Chem. 2026; :. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6c00799. PubMed PMID:42030483 .
- Lu, W, Zhao, Z, Molina, D, Fan, H, Shi, R, Tian, Y et al.. Hepatic SEC16B regulates lipid homeostasis by coordinating VLDL secretion and lipid droplet expansion. J Clin Invest. 2026; :. doi: 10.1172/JCI204602. PubMed PMID:42030462 .