Research

The research in our lab focus on the following:
1) The central, neural circuitry and cellular mechanism of nicotine addiction and withdrawal.
2) Central regulation of blood glucose
3) Drug discovery for smoking cessation
The techniques we are using in the lab include: brain slice patch-clamping recording, drug self-administration, fiber photometry , optogenetic and chemogenetic for neural circuitry manipulation, self-optogenetic stimulation, virus tracing, immunostaining and complex behavior tests.

Biography

2019-Present Associate Principle Investigator
2014-2019 Postdoc researcher at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ( Mentor: Paul Kenny)
2010-2014 Exchange PhD student at Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (Mentor: Samuel Young)
2008-2010 Exchange PhD student at Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Mentor: Samuel Young)
2007-2013 PhD student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology Mentor( Tao Xu)
2003-2007 Undergraduate Student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Selected publications

1. Chen, Z. & Kenny, P. J. Endocannabinoid Signaling in the Habenula Regulates Adaptive Responses to Stress. Biol Psychiatry 84, 553-554

2. Passlick, S., Thapaliya, E. R., Chen, Z.., Richers, M. T. & Ellis-Davies, G. C. R. Optical probing of acetylcholine receptors on neurons in the medial habenula with a novel caged nicotine drug analogue. J Physiol 596, 5307-5318

3. Tuesta LM, Chen, Z., Duncan A, Fowler CD, Ishikawa M, Lee BR, Liu XA, Lu Q, Cameron M, Hayes MR, Kamenecka TM, Pletcher M, Kenny PJ. GLP-1 acts on habenular avoidance circuits to control nicotine intake. Nat Neurosci. 2017 Apr 3

4 . Chen, Z.. & Kenny, P. J. Running on Empty: Leptin Signaling in VTA Regulates Reward from Physical Activity. Cell Metab 22, 540-541

5 . Chen, Z., Das, B., Nakamura, Y., DiGregorio, D. A. & Young, S. M., Jr. Ca2+ channel to synaptic vesicle distance accounts for the readily releasable pool kinetics at a functionally mature auditory synapse. J Neurosci 35, 2083-2100

6. Chen, Z., Cooper, B., Kalla, S., Varoqueaux, F. & Young, S. M., Jr. The Munc13 proteins differentially regulate readily releasable pool dynamics and calcium-dependent recovery at a central synapse. J Neurosci 33, 8336-8351,

7. Montesinos, M. S., Chen, Z.. & Young, S. M., Jr. pUNISHER: a high-level expression cassette for use with recombinant viral vectors for rapid and long term in vivo neuronal expression in the CNS. J Neurophysiol 106, 3230-3244