Editorial Board Member - JFSC
MENG-YANG ZHU
Associate ProfessorDepartment of Pharmacology
Quillen College of Medicine
East Tennessee State University
United States
BIOGRAPHY:
Dr. Zhu is Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the Quillen College of Medicine of East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee. He received his M.D. degree at the Soochow University School of Medicine, China, and the Ph.D. degree in the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Then he finished his post-doctoral training at the Cancer Research Unit of the Saskatoon Cancer Center and University of Mississippi Medical Center. Since his doctorate, Dr. Zhu has been focused his research direction on psychiatric diseases with main field on major depression. He was an instructor in the Department of Psychiatry of Harvard Medical School and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at University of Mississippi Medical Center. Since 2007, Dr. Zhu has been recruited as the faculty of this campus.
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
My research interests are related to the molecular neurosciences. The projects focus on the exploration of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the modulation of the noradrenergic and serotonergic phenotypes in the brain,as well as the neuroprotection of specific bioactive compounds from neuronal toxicity. We are investigating effects of stress hormones, transcription factors, antidepressants and other psychopharmacological compounds on gene expressionin central catecholamine systems, and on neurogenesis. In addition, we study the neuroprotective effect of agmatine, a putative neurotransmitter in the brain, on hippocampal neurons in vitro and in vivo. This latter project also includes investigating the regulation of enzymes involved in the synthesis of agmatine.
A variety of cellular and molecular biological methodologies, as well as stereotaxic surgery and behavioral analyses are applied to cell and/or animal models to address these research goals. Since dysfunction of neural circuitry in central catecholamine systems and cell injury are potentially involved in the development of psychiatric and neurological illnesses such as major depression, and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, these studies will improve our understanding of the molecular pathology of these disorders, and may ultimately lead to improved therapeutic interventions.
Other Editorial Board Members - JFSC
Viorica Lopez-Avila
Agilent Technologies
United States
Dr. Amarnath Mishra
Amity Institute of Forensic Sciences
Amity University
India
HELENE LEBLANC
Faculty of Science
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Canada
Dilek Battal
Department of Toxicology
Mersin University
Turkey
Ronn Johnson
Department of Psychiatry
Creighton University Medical School
United States
Antonina Argo
Department of Medical Biotechnology and Forensic Medicine
University of Palermo
Italy
Gillian Tully
Principal Forensic Services Ltd
United Kingdom
Lisa M Dadio
Department of Forensic science
University of New Haven
USA