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
- Chen, G, Wang, J, Cui, T, Tang, Y, Zhang, Y, Liu, T et al.. Constructing Mo-O-Ni anchoring bonds by room temperature solid-state reduction to drive hydrogen spillover for saturated hydrogenation of naphthalene. Chem Commun (Camb). 2026; :. doi: 10.1039/d6cc02391f. PubMed PMID:42359524 .
- Zhang, Y, Liu, Y, Wan, S, Su, J, Zhang, H, Wang, F et al.. Bio-inspired approaches to in vivo DNA data storage systems. Mater Horiz. 2026; :. doi: 10.1039/d6mh00728g. PubMed PMID:42359515 .
- Li, Y, Zhu, J, Zhu, X, Zhou, L, Chen, Q, Zhang, Y et al.. RubberFormer: a transformer-based detection benchmark for rubber tree powdery mildew. Front Plant Sci. 2026;17 :1836334. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2026.1836334. PubMed PMID:42359413 PubMed Central PMC13290902.
- Zhang, Y, Dou, H, Fan, C, Chen, X, Wei, J. Correction: Integrated analysis of endophytic fungal communities and metabolites reveals root rot-induced disruptions in Monochasma savatieri. Front Plant Sci. 2026;17 :1888132. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2026.1888132. PubMed PMID:42359406 PubMed Central PMC13292085.
- Fang, T, Pang, D, Li, Y, Feng, X, Li, Y, Zhang, Y et al.. Optimized extraction, odor modulation, and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of blue essential oil from Artemisia umbrosa. Front Plant Sci. 2026;17 :1826250. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2026.1826250. PubMed PMID:42359399 PubMed Central PMC13290947.