Hui Zhang, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Vickie & Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience

Hui Zhang

Contact

900 Walnut Street
JHN 4th floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Email Hui Zhang

215-503-7213
215-503-4358 fax

Hui Zhang, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Vickie & Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience

Research & Clinical Interests

Research in my laboratory aims to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms of Parkinson's disease and Schizophrenia at the molecular, cellular and synaptic levels. Much effort is directed at the striatum, the input nucleus of the basal ganglia and the prefrontal cortex, a cortical region which plays a central role in cognition. We employ a combination of electrochemical, electrophysiological, optical imaging, optogenetics, and genetic approaches to explore the plasticity of dopamine neurotransmission, the role of dopamine in modulating information flow and how the process is disturbed in these disorders. In addition, we are developing optical tools to study whether dopamine dys-regulation in schizophrenia is in part due to intrinsic changes in the presynaptic dopamine terminals.

Current Projects

  • The pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease: LRRK2 mediated pathogenic pathways in dopaminergic axonal degeneration and synaptic transmission
  • Dopamine neurotransmission and modulation of the prefrontal cortex in mouse models of schizophrenia
  • The role of tonic and phasic dopamine signaling in the striatum

Publications

Research & Clinical Interests

Research in my laboratory aims to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms of Parkinson's disease and Schizophrenia at the molecular, cellular and synaptic levels. Much effort is directed at the striatum, the input nucleus of the basal ganglia and the prefrontal cortex, a cortical region which plays a central role in cognition. We employ a combination of electrochemical, electrophysiological, optical imaging, optogenetics, and genetic approaches to explore the plasticity of dopamine neurotransmission, the role of dopamine in modulating information flow and how the process is disturbed in these disorders. In addition, we are developing optical tools to study whether dopamine dys-regulation in schizophrenia is in part due to intrinsic changes in the presynaptic dopamine terminals.

Current Projects

  • The pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease: LRRK2 mediated pathogenic pathways in dopaminergic axonal degeneration and synaptic transmission
  • Dopamine neurotransmission and modulation of the prefrontal cortex in mouse models of schizophrenia
  • The role of tonic and phasic dopamine signaling in the striatum