Zhang, Ye, Ph.D.

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

1. Cheng, L, Liu, X, Zhang, Z, Liu, J, Tang, J, Zhu, X et al.. Synchronous modulation of fluorescence and oxidase-mimicking activity in a Mn-based MOF nanozyme via post-synthetic metal exchange for Cu²⁺ sensing. Talanta. 2026;311 :130300. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2026.130300. PubMed PMID:42456258 .
2. Yang, XW, Teng, JY, Wang, LL, Tuo, N, Zhang, Y, Qiao, HT et al.. Spectroscopic interplay of Co(II) and Pb(II) Salamo complexes: From coordination-induced electronic modulation to antibacterial activity. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2026;363 (Pt 1):128356. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2026.128356. PubMed PMID:42456245 .
3. Zhang, Y, Wang, D, Su, N, Lu, H, Xu, H, Wan, W et al.. Chronic prosthetic joint infection caused by Coxiella burnetii diagnosed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing: A case report and literature review. J Infect Public Health. 2026;19 (9):103301. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2026.103301. PubMed PMID:42456224 .
4. Qu, X, Xu, R, Liu, B, Li, S, Zhang, Y, Liu, S et al.. The distinct displacement of atomic column position induced by crystal symmetry effects in ABF-STEM and iDPC-STEM imaging. Ultramicroscopy. 2026;286 :114418. doi: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2026.114418. PubMed PMID:42456191 .
5. Ren, C, Cheng, T, Zhang, W, Chen, S, Zhang, S, Zhao, Q et al.. GmSNAT1 enhances cold tolerance in soybean by promoting melatonin biosynthesis and interacting with GmPSYR1. Plant Physiol. 2026; :. doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiag516. PubMed PMID:42456113 .

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