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
- Gao, C, Zhang, Y, Cui, H, Xie, Y, Chen, X, Wang, S et al.. Niobium Phosphate-Modified HY Zeolite with Enhanced Acidity and Hydroxyl Density for Efficient Alkylation of Bio-Oil Phenolics. J Agric Food Chem. 2025; :. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c11808. PubMed PMID:41439388 .
- Cao, Z, Ma, ML, Xiao, Y, Zhang, Y, Chen, Y, Zhu, X et al.. Leveraging transcriptomics, Mendelian randomization, and double machine learning algorithm for causal biomarker discovery and prognostic signature development in the context of graphene-related lung adenocarcinoma. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 2025; :1-22. doi: 10.1080/10255842.2025.2606227. PubMed PMID:41439305 .
- Mu, X, Zhu, F, Zhang, Y, Pei, ML. Integration Analysis of Metabolome and Transcriptome Reveals the Effect of Lipopolysaccharide on Ovary Response to Stimulation. Immun Inflamm Dis. 2025;13 (12):e70309. doi: 10.1002/iid3.70309. PubMed PMID:41439281 .
- Tu, Y, Zhou, Z, Lu, Y, Wei, B, Ge, Y, Ding, G et al.. The composition of lower genital tract microbiota correlates with in vitro fertilization and frozen embryo transfer outcomes in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2025;15 :1617187. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1617187. PubMed PMID:41439252 PubMed Central PMC12719300.
- Zhou, J, Hu, B, Zhang, Y, Wang, Q, Wu, Y, Wang, H et al.. Letter to the Editor Regarding "Effect of Propofol on Postoperative Sleep Quality in Patients Undergoing Elective Cesarean Section with Spinal Anesthesia: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Propensity Score Matching at a Single Center" [Response to Letter]. Nat Sci Sleep. 2025;17 :3153-3154. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S585673. PubMed PMID:41439201 PubMed Central PMC12720888.