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, M, Tang, E, Ding, H, Zhang, Y. Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Communication Sciences and Disorders: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2024; :1-22. doi: 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00157. PubMed PMID:39418583 .
- Zhang, Y, Cao, Z, Xie, L, Lin, L, Chai, G. Automated Preoperative Planning Algorithm for Mandibular Angle Osteotomy Based on Anatomical Landmarks Detection: A Retrospective Study. J Craniofac Surg. 2024;35 (7):2009-2014. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000010592. PubMed PMID:39418506 .
- Wang, Y, Li, S, Wang, X, Wang, S, Liu, Y, Zhang, Y et al.. Structural Phase Transitions and Metallization in Zirconium Disulfide (ZrS2) under High Pressure. Inorg Chem. 2024; :. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c03305. PubMed PMID:39418399 .
- Xing, X, Xu, S, Wang, Y, Shen, Z, Wen, S, Zhang, Y et al.. Evaluating the causal effect of circulating proteome on the glycemic traits: Evidence from Mendelian randomization. Diabetes. 2024; :. doi: 10.2337/db24-0262. PubMed PMID:39418314 .
- Zhang, Y, Mao, M, Zhang, R, Liao, YT, Wu, VCH. DeepPL: A deep-learning-based tool for the prediction of bacteriophage lifecycle. PLoS Comput Biol. 2024;20 (10):e1012525. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012525. PubMed PMID:39418300 .