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
- Xu, X, Zhang, Y, Fang, H, Li, C, Xu, X, Jiang, H et al.. Invasive breast carcinoma with a DCIS-like growth pattern: Clinicopathological features and diagnostic pitfalls. Pathol Res Pract. 2026;282 :156460. doi: 10.1016/j.prp.2026.156460. PubMed PMID:41921235 .
- Pang, Y, Wang, M, Qian, W, Liu, H, Lai, H, Li, X et al.. Transcription factor CitERF36 promotes sucrose accumulation in citrus fruits via activating a sucrose transporter and suppressing a vacuolar invertase. Plant J. 2026;126 (1):e70838. doi: 10.1111/tpj.70838. PubMed PMID:41921211 .
- Shi, Y, Gu, S, Wong, CH, Zhang, Y, Li, W, Liu, J et al.. Near-Infrared Electrophosphorescence from 1-(Benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)isoquinoline-Based Platinum(II) Complexes with Aromatic Thiol Bridging Ligands through Intramolecular Pt-Pt Interactions. Inorg Chem. 2026; :. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6c00617. PubMed PMID:41921069 .
- Wang, Y, Jin, P, Kumar, A, Jan, L, Cheng, Y, Jan, YN et al.. Nonlinear stiffness of NompC gating spring and its implication in mechanotransduction. Sci Adv. 2026;12 (14):eaeb6165. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aeb6165. PubMed PMID:41921004 .
- Ma, X, Ma, Y, Zhang, L, Liu, R, Xia, R, Hao, M et al.. Tissue-specific inflammation induces cell state plasticity with oncogenic addiction in mucosal melanoma. Sci Adv. 2026;12 (14):eady4536. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ady4536. PubMed PMID:41920996 .