Chenghua Gu

Chenghua Gu is a Professor of Neurobiology at the Harvard Medical School where her research focuses on the Blood–brain barrier.[1] She is also part of the Harvard Brain Science Initiative and has won numerous awards for her groundbreaking research on the brain's vascular component.

Education

Gu earned her Ph.D. at Cornell Medical School. She then joined the lab of David Ginty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she studied the role of semaphorin signaling in vascular development.[2][3]

Research

Gu's research focuses on the development of the blood-brain barrier and its interaction with neuronal networks.[4][5] She uses experimental techniques such as Two-photon excitation microscopy, mouse genetics and computational models to study neurovascular coupling, the regulation of blood flow by changes in neuronal activity, and vascular patterning.[6] Her laboratory has recently published on the importance of the inhibition of transcytosis for maintaining blood-brain barrier integrity and how the mechanisms regulating transcytosis levels could be manipulated to aid the entry of therapeutics into the central nervous system.[7][8]

Award and honors

  • Allen Distinguished Investigator Award, 2018[9]
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholar, 2016[10]
  • National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award, 2014[11]
  • Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, 2008[12]
  • Whitehall Foundation Award, 2007[12]
  • Klingenstein Fellowship Award, 2007[13]
  • March of Dimes Foundation Award, 2007[12]

References

  1. ^ "Chenghua Gu | Department of Neurobiology". neuro.hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  2. ^ Gu, Chenghua; Yoshida, Yutaka; Livet, Jean; Reimert, Dorothy V.; Mann, Fanny; Merte, Janna; Henderson, Christopher E.; Jessell, Thomas M.; Kolodkin, Alex L.; Ginty, David D. (2005-01-14). "Semaphorin 3E and Plexin-D1 Control Vascular Pattern Independently of Neuropilins". Science. 307 (5707): 265–268. Bibcode:2005Sci...307..265G. doi:10.1126/science.1105416. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 15550623. S2CID 36470855.
  3. ^ Gu, Chenghua; Rodriguez, E. Rene; Reimert, Dorothy V.; Shu, Tianzhi; Fritzsch, Bernd; Richards, Linda J.; Kolodkin, Alex L.; Ginty, David D. (July 2003). "Neuropilin-1 Conveys Semaphorin and VEGF Signaling during Neural and Cardiovascular Development". Developmental Cell. 5 (1): 45–57. doi:10.1016/s1534-5807(03)00169-2. ISSN 1534-5807. PMC 3918747. PMID 12852851.
  4. ^ Ben-Zvi, Ayal; Lacoste, Baptiste; Kur, Esther; Andreone, Benjamin J.; Mayshar, Yoav; Yan, Han; Gu, Chenghua (2014-05-22). "MSFD2A is critical for the formation and function of the blood brain barrier". Nature. 509 (7501): 507–511. Bibcode:2014Natur.509..507B. doi:10.1038/nature13324. ISSN 0028-0836. PMC 4134871. PMID 24828040.
  5. ^ Lacoste, Baptiste; Comin, Cesar H.; Ben-Zvi, Ayal; Kaeser, Pascal S.; Xu, Xiaoyin; Costa, Luciano da F.; Gu, Chenghua (2014-09-03). "Sensory-related neural activity regulates the structure of vascular networks in the cerebral cortex". Neuron. 83 (5): 1117–1130. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2014.07.034. ISSN 0896-6273. PMC 4166422. PMID 25155955.
  6. ^ Lacoste, Baptiste; Gu, Chenghua (November 2015). "Control of cerebrovascular patterning by neural activity during postnatal development". Mechanisms of Development. 138 Pt 1: 43–49. doi:10.1016/j.mod.2015.06.003. ISSN 0925-4773. PMC 4663105. PMID 26116138.
  7. ^ Andreone, Benjamin J.; Chow, Brian Wai; Tata, Aleksandra; Lacoste, Baptiste; Ben-Zvi, Ayal; Bullock, Kevin; Deik, Amy A.; Ginty, David D.; Clish, Clary B.; Gu, Chenghua (2017-05-03). "Blood-brain barrier permeability is regulated by lipid transport-dependent suppression of caveolae-mediated transcytosis". Neuron. 94 (3): 581–594.e5. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2017.03.043. ISSN 0896-6273. PMC 5474951. PMID 28416077.
  8. ^ Chow, Brian Wai; Gu, Chenghua (2017-03-22). "Gradual suppression of transcytosis governs functional blood-retinal barrier formation". Neuron. 93 (6): 1325–1333.e3. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.043. ISSN 0896-6273. PMC 5480403. PMID 28334606.
  9. ^ "Three Harvard Medical School scientists receive prestigious Allen awards". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  10. ^ "Faculty Scholars Program". HHMI.org. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  11. ^ "NIH Director's Pioneer Award Program - 2014 Award Recipients | NIH Common Fund". commonfund.nih.gov. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  12. ^ a b c "Brain vasculature at the neuro-immune interface". alleninstitute.org. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  13. ^ "The Esther A. & and Joseph Klingenstein Fund, Inc". www.klingfund.org. Retrieved 2019-12-07.