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
- Li, P, Zhu, L, Yang, H, Dong, L, Zhao, S, Lv, H et al.. Identification of Brassica oleracea germplasm resources resistant to Plutella xylostella (L.). Pest Manag Sci. 2026; :. doi: 10.1002/ps.70740. PubMed PMID:41859830 .
- Zhou, L, Tao, Z, Zhou, Y, Yang, L, Zhang, Y, He, J et al.. Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy for the Treatment of Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Non-Endemic Regions: A Single-Arm Phase 2 Clinical Trial. Cancer Manag Res. 2026;18 :559229. doi: 10.2147/CMAR.S559229. PubMed PMID:41859748 PubMed Central PMC12997774.
- Zhang, Y, Min, J, Gong, L. Nomogram to predict severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children. Front Pediatr. 2026;14 :1735063. doi: 10.3389/fped.2026.1735063. PubMed PMID:41859697 PubMed Central PMC12996077.
- Liu, Q, Li, C, Zhang, Y, Liu, C, Liu, Y, Tian, M et al.. Key dietary amino acids modulating overweight/obesity risk in Chinese children and adolescents: a machine learning analysis of a national survey. Front Nutr. 2026;13 :1769111. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1769111. PubMed PMID:41859655 PubMed Central PMC12995779.
- Li, X, Wang, J, Zhang, X, Wang, X, Sun, C, Zhao, N et al.. Naringin nanoparticles alleviate RA-ILD pulmonary fibrosis by targeting 14-3-3ζ to inhibit LYVE1+ macrophages TGF-β1 secretion. Mater Today Bio. 2026;37 :102982. doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102982. PubMed PMID:41859651 PubMed Central PMC12996937.