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
- Jiang, N, Xin, Z, Zhang, Y, Liu, Y, Chen, M, Ping, X et al.. Clinical translation of a DWI-radiomics nomogram integrating serum biomarkers for pretreatment staging of cervical cancer. BMC Med Imaging. 2026; :. doi: 10.1186/s12880-026-02175-9. PubMed PMID:41618216 .
- Li, Y, Li, Y, Kong, X, Tao, N, Hou, Y, Han, Q et al.. Mutations in sugar metabolism-related genes driving global drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission revealed by whole-genome sequencing. BMC Infect Dis. 2026; :. doi: 10.1186/s12879-026-12559-5. PubMed PMID:41618188 .
- Jia, H, Zheng, Q, Bai, J, Zhang, L, Jin, Q, Wang, G et al.. Comparison of the endoscopic surgical monitoring system and blood parameters for evaluating irrigation fluid absorption during bipolar plasmakinetic transurethral resection of the prostate: a prospective observational study. BMC Anesthesiol. 2026; :. doi: 10.1186/s12871-026-03652-y. PubMed PMID:41618158 .
- Cheng, C, Li, Y, Lv, W, Zhao, J, Zhang, Y, Lu, H et al.. A dual pathway intervention of tES and FMT enhances emotion regulation in stressed military personnel. Discov Ment Health. 2026; :. doi: 10.1007/s44192-026-00375-x. PubMed PMID:41618079 .
- Zhang, Y, Hanna, P, Vanclay, F. The social and environmental impacts on local residents from tourist accommodation near protected areas. Environ Manage. 2026;76 (3):83. doi: 10.1007/s00267-026-02385-5. PubMed PMID:41618037 PubMed Central PMC12858460.