Jun YAO Ph. D.
Associate Professor
1999 B. S., Nanjing University, China
2001 M.S., Nanjing University, China
2007 Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University, USA
2007-2011 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Wisconsin, USA
2011-2013 Research Associate, Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, USA
2013- Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, China
Research interest
My laboratory focuses on investigating the pathogenesis of mood disorders, including bipolar disorder and depression. Using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC), 3-D organoids and mouse models, we applied multiple techniques, including electrophysiology, super-resolution imaging, behavioral testing, optogenetics, cryo-EM and multiple genome sequencing approaches, to explore the mechanisms of the diseases at the molecular, neural circuit and genetic levels. We screen out candidate risk factors from the patient iPSC-derived neurons and organoids, and apply the organoids and mouse models to study: 1) the molecular mechanisms that the key risk factors employ to induce disease symptoms; 2) the key brain regions and neural circuits in mice that the key risk factor functions to induce behavioral symptoms; 3) the genetic mechanism that the expression and/or activity of the key factors is regulated by a variety of susceptible genes in patient neurons.
Selected publications
1. Lu SY, Fu CL, Liang L, Yang B, Shen W, Wang QW, Chen Y, Chen YF, Liu YN, Zhu L, Zhao J, Shi W, Mi S, Yao J. miR-218-2 regulates cognitive functions in the hippocampus through C3-dependent modulation of synaptic vesicle release. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Feb. (in press)
2. Chen Y, Wang YH, Zheng Y, Li M, Wang B, Wang QW, Fu CL, Liu YN, Li X, Yao J. Synaptotagmin-1 interacts with PI(4,5)P2 to initiate synaptic vesicle docking in hippocampal neurons. Cell Reports. 2021 Feb. (in press)
3. Wang QW, Lu SY, Liu YN, Chen Y, Wei H, Shen W, Chen YF, Fu CL, Wang YH, Dai A, Huang X, Gage FH, Xu Q, Yao J. Synaptotagmin-7 deficiency induces mania-like behavioral abnormalities through attenuating GluN2B activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Nov 23:202016416. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2016416117.
4. Shen W, Wang QW, Liu YN, et al., Gage FH, and Yao J. Synaptotagmin-7 is a key factor for bipolar-like behavioral abnormalities in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Feb 25;117(8):4392-4399. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1918165117. Epub 2020 Feb 10.
5. Zheng Y, Shen W, Zhang J, Yang B, Liu YN, Qi H, Yu X, Lu SY, Chen Y, Xu YZ, Li Y, Gage FH, Mi S, and Yao J. CRISPR interference-based specific and efficient gene inactivation in the brain. Nature Neuroscience. 2018 Mar;21(3):447-454. doi: 10.1038/s41593-018-0077-5.
6. Liu, Y.N., Lu, S.Y., and Yao, J. (2017). Application of induced pluripotent stem cells to understand neurobiological basis of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2017 Apr 10. doi: 10.1111/pcn.12528. [Epub ahead of print]
7. Mertens J, Wang QW, Kim Y, Yu DX, Pham S, Yang B, Zheng Y, Diffenderfer KE, Zhang J, Soltani S, Eames TJ, Schafer ST, Boyer L, Marchetto MC, Nurnberger JI, Calabrese JR, Ødegaard KJ, McCarthy MJ, Zandi PP, PBDS, Mi S, Brennand KJ, Kelsoe JR, Gage FH, Yao J. Differential Responses to Lithium in Hyperexcitable Neurons from Bipolar Patients. Nature. 2015 Nov 5;527(7576):95-9. doi: 10.1038/nature15526. Epub 2015 Oct 28.
Contact information
Tel：+86-10-62797147; Email: jyao@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
Lab website: http://yaolab.life.tsinghua.edu.cn
