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
- Zhang, Y, Li, Y, Ba, T, Cai, Z, Liu, X, Feng, W et al.. [Differences in the formation mechanism of performance-based compensation in public hospitals with different administrative affiliations]. Beijing Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban. 2026;58 (3):464-471. . PubMed PMID:42287039 .
- Liu, Y, Zhang, Y, Li, L, Chen, D, Yang, Z, Liu, Y et al.. Development and Validation of an ELISA Method for Quantification of HuB01 in Fermentation Products. Biotechnol Appl Biochem. 2026; :. doi: 10.1002/bab.70183. PubMed PMID:42286993 .
- Bao, Y, Zeng, C, Xue, Y, Zhao, Q, Sun, X, Meng, F et al.. RNF213 Variants Associated With Periventricular Anastomosis Regression After Revascularization in Moyamoya Disease. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2026;32 (6):e70982. doi: 10.1002/cns.70982. PubMed PMID:42286852 .
- Jiang, X, Shi, H, Chu, B, Gu, Y, Zhang, Y, Wang, L et al.. Chitosan-Functionalized Liposome-Mediated Fundus Delivery of Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate for Diabetic Retinopathy Therapy. Adv Healthc Mater. 2026; :e05083. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202505083. PubMed PMID:42286831 .
- Yu, Y, Wu, H, Ji, H, Hu, Y, Fang, Y, Lin, Y et al.. Metagenomic analysis reveals resistome characteristics and high-risk resistance genes in the pig nasal cavities, feces, and farm dust. Anim Microbiome. 2026; :. doi: 10.1186/s42523-026-00589-y. PubMed PMID:42286784 .