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
- Xie, MH, Zhang, YY, Zhou, X, Wang, T, Ge, YH, Luo, MZ et al.. Leaf Habit Drives Divergent Leaf Hydraulic Strategies in Gardening Trees From a Subtropical City in China. Physiol Plant. 2026;178 (3):e70970. doi: 10.1111/ppl.70970. PubMed PMID:42322173 .
- Zhou, J, Bian, L, Zhao, X, Cui, L, Li, D, Xu, J et al.. Lyophilizable Thermostable Nano-Aluminum Adjuvant and Combinations Induced Robust Antigen-Specific Humoral and Cellular Immunity in Mice. Adv Healthc Mater. 2026; :e05300. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202505300. PubMed PMID:42322157 .
- Zhang, Y, Wu, Y, Liu, W, Wang, X, Broer, DJ, Feringa, BL et al.. Temperature- and Light-Regulated Liquid Crystal Smart Window for Dynamic Control of Daylight and Solar Heat in All-Weather Conditions. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2026; :e7998291. doi: 10.1002/anie.7998291. PubMed PMID:42322146 .
- Liang, W, Xu, D, Zhang, L, Qu, Y, Li, L, Zhong, K et al.. Retinoic acid-driven expansion of CD16hiCD177+ neutrophils mediates steroid-resistant GI-GVHD. Blood. 2026; :. doi: 10.1182/blood.2025032193. PubMed PMID:42322118 .
- Yao, Q, Zhang, Y, Chen, R. Rethinking the evaluation of intra-articular drug delivery systems for osteoarthritis. Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2026; :. doi: 10.1080/17425247.2026.2693498. PubMed PMID:42322098 .