Xiao-Bing Gao, Ph.D

 

Position:         Assistant Professor Address:          Division of Reproductive Neuroscience,             Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,             Yale University School of Medicine,                         333 Cedar Street, FMB 321, New Haven, CT 06520.

E-mail address:         xiao-bing.gao@yale.edu

 

 

1 Employment

Assistant investigator, Shanghai Institute of Physiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China, 07/1996 - 08/1996.

Postdoctoral associate, Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA, 09/1996 - 06/2000. Associate research scientist, Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA, 07/2000 – 06/2003.

Assistant professor, Department of OB/GYN, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA, 07/2003-present.

 

2 Academic Honors

Distinguished Student Prize by Nanjing University, 1989 Distinguished Student Prize (Yin-Song Prize) by Nanjing University, 1990 Granted M. S. with honors by Beijing Normal University, 1993 Distinguished Graduate Student Prize by Shanghai Institute of Physiology, 1996

 

3 Membership of Professional Organization:

Member of the Society for Neuroscience Member of the American Physiological Society

 

4 Journal Reviewer

Journal of Neuroscience

Journal of Physiology

Journal of Neurophysiology

Brain Research

Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior

Neuroscience Letters

 

5 Grant Reviewer

National Science Foundation

 

6 Grants

Active Grants

1. P. I. - X. B. Gao

Source of Support - NIH/NIDDK R01 DK070723 Project Dates - April 1st, 2005 - March 31st, 2010 "Crosstalk of Hypocretin and MCH in Feeding Regulation"

This study investigates neuropeptides (hypocretin/orexin and MCH) and their receptors involved in regulatory pathways controlling feeding behavior.

 

2. P. I. - S. Diano; Co-I. - X. B. Gao Source of Support - NIH/NIDDK R01 DK 070039 Project Dates - September 15th, 2005 - August 31st, 2009 "Learning and Memory in the Melanocortin System"

The goals of this project are to understand the hypothalamic inter- and sub-cellular mechanisms that underlie positive energy balance in the face of adequate available energy sources.

 

3. P. I. - T. L. Horvath; Co-I. - X. B. Gao

Source of Support - NIH/NIDDK R01 DK 074386 Project Dates - September 1st, 2005 - August 31st, 2008 " Central Peptidergic Circuits in Metabolism Regulation"

The goal of this project is to understand the regulation and molecular mechanism of synaptic rearrangement caused by leptin.

 

4. P. I. - T. L. Horvath; Co-I. - X. B. Gao

Source of Support - NIH/NIDDK R01 DK060711 Project Dates - January 1st, 2007 - November 30th, 2010 "Ghrelin in hypothalamic regulation of energy balance"

The goal of this project is to understand the regulation and molecular mechanism of synaptic plasticity caused by ghrelin in the central reward circuitry.

 

Completed Grants

1. P. I. - X. B. Gao Source of Support - American Heart Association (Heritage Affiliate) Scientist Development Grant 0130514T Project Dates - July 1st, 2001 - June 31st, 2004 (Relinquished upon the funding of K01 from NIH)

"Melanin-concentrating hormone modulation of amino acid neurotransmitters in the lateral hypothalamus" This study investigates how MCH acts as an inhibitory neuropeptide to modulate neuronal activity in the lateral hypothalamus.

 

2. P. I. - X. B. Gao

Source of Support - NIH/NIDDK R01 DK 074386

Project Dates - April 1st, 2003 - March 31st, 2006

" MCH modulation of neurotransmission in the LH area"

This study investigates how melanin-concentrating hormone modulates neurotransmission in the lateral hypothalamic area.

 

7 Lecture

08/26/2004  The Lateral Hypothalamus: from Peptide to Neuron.  The State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Sponsored by Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission. 06/11/2007 Adenosinergic modulation of hypocretin/orexin-containing neurons in the lateral hypothalamus. Invited lecture: New insight from adenosine research, SLEEP 2007 21st Annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Minneapolis, MN, USA.

06/06/2008  Experience-dependent synaptic plasticity in hypocretin neurons. Sleep Medicine Grand Rounds Seminar, Center for sleep research, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA. 08/13/2008  Synaptic plasticity in mouse hypocretin/orexin neurons. Invited lecture: 10 Years of Hypocretins/Orexins -physiology and pathophysiology, Acta Physiologica International Symposium, Oulu, Finland.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1 Papers in peer-review journals

de Lecea, L., T. S. Kilduff, C. Peyron, X.-B. Gao, P.E. Foye, P.E. Danielson, C. Fukuhara, E.L.F. Battenberg, V.T. Gautvik, F.S. Bartlett II, W.N. Frankel, A.N. van den Pol, F.E. Bloom, K.M. Gautvik, and J.G. Sutcliffe. (1998) The hypocretin: two hypothalamic peptides with neuroexcitatory activity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 95: 322-327. Gao, X.-B., G. Chen, and A.N. van den Pol. (1998) GABA-dependent firing of glutamate-evoked action potentials at non-NMDA receptors in developing hypothalamic neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology 79: 716-726. van den Pol, A. N., X.-B. Gao, K. Obrietan, T. Kilduff, and A. B. Belousov. (1998) Pre- and Postsynaptic actions and modulation of neuroendocrine neurons by a new hypothalamic peptide, hypocretin / orexin. Journal of Neuroscience 18(19): 7962-71. van den Pol, A. N., X.-B. Gao, P. Patrylo, P. K. Ghosh, and K. Obrietan. (1998) Glutamate inhibits GABA excitatory activity in developing neurons. Journal of Neuroscience 18(24): 10749-10761. Gao, X.-B. and A. N. van den Pol. (1999) Neurotrophin-3 potentiates excitatory GABAergic synaptic transmission in developing hypothalamic neurons. Journal of Physiology (Lond.) 518(1): 81-95. Liu, Q.-S., P. R. Patrylo, X.-B. Gao, and A. N. van den Pol. (1999) Kainate acts at presynaptic receptors to increase GABA release from hypothalamic neurons. Journal of neurophysiology, 82: 1059-1062. Gao, X.-B. and A. N. van den Pol. (2000) GABA release from mouse axonal growth cones. Journal of Physiology (Lond.) 523(3): 629-637. Gao, X.-B. and A. N. Van Den Pol. (2001) GABA, not glutamate, a primary transmitter driving action potentials in developing hypothalamic neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology 85: 425-434. Van den Pol, A. N., P. R. Patrylo, P. K. Ghosh, and X.-B. Gao. (2001) Lateral hypothalamus: Early developmental expression and response to hypocretin (orexin). Journal of Comparative Neurology 433: 349-363. Gao, X.-B. and A. N. van den Pol. (2001) Melanin-Concentrating hormone depresses synaptic activity of glutamate and GABA neurons from rat lateral hypothalamus. Journal of Physiology  (Lond.) 533: 237-252.

Wang, Y.-F., X.-B. Gao, and A. N. van den Pol.  (2001) Membrane properties underlying patterns of GABA-dependent action potentials in developing mouse hypothalamic neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology 86: 1252-1265, 2001.

Gao, X.-B. and A. N. van den Pol. (2002) Melanin concentrating hormone depresses L, N, and P/Q voltage-dependent calcium channels in rat lateral hypothalamic neurons. Journal of Physiology (Lond.) 542: 273-286.

Obrietan, K., X.-B. Gao, and A. N. van den Pol. (2002) Excitatory actions of GABA increase BDNF expression via a MAPK-CREB---dependent mechanism—a positive feedback circuit in developing neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology 88: 1006-1016.

Li, Y., X-B Gao, T. Sakurai, and A N. van den Pol. (2002) Hypocretin/Orexin Excites Hypocretin Neurons via a Local Glutamate Neuron—A Potential Mechanism for Orchestrating the Hypothalamic Arousal System. Neuron 36: 1169–1181.

Van den Pol, A. N., P. K. Ghosh., R-J. Liu, Y. Li, G. K. Aghajanian, and X.-B. Gao. (2003) Hypocretin (orexin) enhances neuron activity and cell synchrony in developing mouse GFP-expressing locus coeruleus. Journal of Physiology (Lond.) 541: 169-185.

Gao, X.-B., PK Ghosh, and A. N. van den Pol. (2003) Neurons synthesizing melanin-concentrating hormone identified by selective reporter gene expression after transfection in vitr transmitter responses. Journal of Neurophysiology 90(6): 3978-3985. Horvath, T.L. and X.-B. Gao. (2005) Input organization and plasticity of hypocretin neurons: Possible clues to obesity’s association with insomnia. Cell metabolism 1: 279-286.  

Hommel, J.D., R. Trinko, R.M. Sears, D. Georgescu, Z.W. Liu, X.-B. Gao, J.J. Thurmon, M. Marinelli, and R.J. Dileone. (2006) Leptin receptor signaling in midbrain dopamine neurons regulates feeding. Neuron 51: 801-810.

Alfonso, A., Z.-W. Liu, Z.B. Andrews, M. Shanabrough, E. Borok,, J. Elsworth, R.H. Roth, M. Sleeman, M. Piccioto, M. Tschšp, X.-B. Gao, and T.L. Horvath. (2006) Ghrelin modulates the activity and synaptic input organization of midbrain dopamine neurons while promoting appetite. Journal of Clinical Investigation 116: 3229-3239.