Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsLei Song, MD, PhD
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Featured Publications
Differential outcomes of high‐fat diet on age‐related rescaling of cochlear frequency place coding
Zhang Y, Lin G, Xue N, Wang Y, Du T, Liu H, Xiong W, Shang W, Wu H, Song L. Differential outcomes of high‐fat diet on age‐related rescaling of cochlear frequency place coding. The FASEB Journal 2023, 37: e23167. PMID: 37651093, DOI: 10.1096/fj.202300457rr.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAge-related hearing lossHigh-fat dietHearing lossEffects of HFDLoss of OHCsActivation of TRPV1Sensorineural hearing lossCBA/CaJPlace codingCochlear frequency selectivityTRPV1 expressionOHC functionInflammatory responseCommon causeHFD cohortGenetic backgroundYounger ageArachidonic acidCochlear lengthHair cellsPrestin levelsLipid homeostasisRescuing effectCochlear amplificationAgePrestin derived OHC surface area reduction underlies age‐related rescaling of frequency place coding
Zhang Y, Lin G, Wang Y, Xue N, Lin X, Du T, Xiong W, Song L. Prestin derived OHC surface area reduction underlies age‐related rescaling of frequency place coding. Hearing Research 2021, 423: 108406. PMID: 34933788, DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2021.108406.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2026
Human PSC-derived sinoatrial node-cardiac plexus assembloids model innervation-associated maturation of pacemaker systems
Zhang T, Fan L, Yao F, Li G, Lin G, Yang Y, Qian F, Liu C, Tang Q, Wang W, Xu C, Xu X, Chang Y, Yang W, Gong J, Wang Y, Huang S, Guan R, Lin L, Jing Q, Yang Z, Pan T, Cheng X, Song L, Du M, Luo Z, Zeng A. Human PSC-derived sinoatrial node-cardiac plexus assembloids model innervation-associated maturation of pacemaker systems. Cell Stem Cell 2026, 33: 945-963.e11. PMID: 42143017, DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2026.04.018.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSinoatrial nodeElectrophysiological featuresSinoatrial node automaticityHuman in vitro systemsConduction dysfunctionPacemaker activityFunctional interrogationSpatial transcriptomicsHeart rhythmNeural inputPacemakerPacemaker developmentOrganoidsPacemaker systemCardiac organoidsAssembloidsPhysiological importanceElectrical impulsesCochlear nucleus spatial transcriptomes of normal and hearing loss mice reveal a critical role of Spp1 in bushy cells
Liu H, Liao S, Li X, Song L, Poo M, Zhao J, Zhou W, Cai R, Wang M, Ma X, Lin S, Zhao X, Zhu N, Zhang Y, Mei J, Song L, Zhao L, Liu S, Chen Y, Wu H. Cochlear nucleus spatial transcriptomes of normal and hearing loss mice reveal a critical role of Spp1 in bushy cells. Cell Research 2026, 36: 531-550. PMID: 41936701, PMCID: PMC13287771, DOI: 10.1038/s41422-026-01246-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBushy cellsCochlear nucleusCN cell typesProcessing of auditory signalsCongenital hearing lossHearing restorationHearing lossGene expressionMouse CNSNormal miceMutant miceSingle-nucleus RNA sequencingGenes SPP1Spatial transcriptomic analysisPostnatal developmentCN cellsMiceAuditory processingCellular mechanismsTherapeutic targetCell typesCell type atlasDatabase to dateCN levelsSpatial organization
2025
A multi-channel integrated auditory function test system
Xiao S, Zheng Y, Lin G, Liu J, Xiong W, Song L, Chen F. A multi-channel integrated auditory function test system. Neuroscience 2025, 585: 381-393. PMID: 40912356, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.08.053.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsDistortion product otoacoustic emissionsAuditory brainstem responseCochlear microphonicsMechanism of hearing lossWave I amplitudeWave I latencyOtoacoustic emissionsBrainstem responseHearing frequenciesHearing functionAuditory phenotypeGenetically engineered mouse modelsHearing researchCM recordingsFunctional assessmentHearingABR systemMouse modelAnimal modelsGold standardAssessmentFunctional test systemMiceLarge-scale screeningScreeningSHANK2 establishes auditory hair bundle architecture essential for mammalian hearing
Choi H, Park H, Min H, Kim K, Kim S, Li J, Liu C, Ko H, Lee M, Song L, Zhao B, Bok J. SHANK2 establishes auditory hair bundle architecture essential for mammalian hearing. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2025, 122: e2426646122. PMID: 40627398, PMCID: PMC12280949, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2426646122.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSmall GTPase Rap1Actin-filled stereociliaHair cell stereociliary bundlesStereociliary bundlesBundle architectureOuter hair cellsCell-specific ablationGTPase Rap1Inner hair cellsHair cellsMammalian cochleaFunctional significanceShank2Synaptic functionImpaired amplificationBundle integrityApical surfaceHigh-frequency hearingHearing lossCellsMammalian auditory systemArchitectural disruptionSound transductionRap1Mammalian hearingCasz1 is required for both inner hair cell fate stabilization and outer hair cell survival
Sun Y, Ren M, Zhang Y, Li S, Luo Z, Sun S, He S, Wang G, Zhang D, Mansour S, Song L, Liu Z. Casz1 is required for both inner hair cell fate stabilization and outer hair cell survival. Science 2025, 388: eado4930. PMID: 39883789, DOI: 10.1126/science.ado4930.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCell fate stabilityLoss of Casz1Transcription factor CASZ1Outer hair cell survivalCochlear inner hair cellsTranscription factor GATA3Transcription factorsCASZ1Mouse developmentCell survivalHair cell survivalInner hair cellsOuter hair cell numberTranscriptionDown-regulationHair cellsOverexpressing GATA3Mutant miceOuter hair cellsCellsOHC survivalGATA3Mice
2024
The p. S178L mutation in Tbc1d24 disrupts endosome‐mediated synaptic vesicle trafficking of cochlear hair cells and leads to hearing impairment in mice
Chen P, Hou S, Li G, Lin Y, Lu J, Song L, Li G, Pang X, Wu H, Yang T. The p. S178L mutation in Tbc1d24 disrupts endosome‐mediated synaptic vesicle trafficking of cochlear hair cells and leads to hearing impairment in mice. Clinical Genetics 2024, 107: 67-77. PMID: 39400345, DOI: 10.1111/cge.14620.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchNon-syndromic hearing lossSynaptic vesiclesRibbon synapses of cochlear inner hair cellsAutosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing lossDominant non-syndromic hearing lossEndosome-like vacuolesEndosomal membrane traffickingInner hair cellsSynaptic vesicle traffickingHearing lossRibbon synapsesHair cell ribbon synapsesKnock-in mouse modelMutant miceSustained exocytosisVesicle traffickingEndosomal traffickingMembrane traffickingVesicle recyclingIn vitro interactionCochlear inner hair cellsReduced exocytosisWave I amplitudeMild hearing lossAuditory brainstem responseDMXL2 Is Required for Endocytosis and Recycling of Synaptic Vesicles in Auditory Hair Cells
Peng H, Wang L, Gao Y, Liu H, Lin G, Kong Y, Xu P, Liu H, Yuan Q, Liu H, Song L, Yang T, Wu H. DMXL2 Is Required for Endocytosis and Recycling of Synaptic Vesicles in Auditory Hair Cells. Journal Of Neuroscience 2024, 44: e1405232024. PMID: 39147590, PMCID: PMC11411588, DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1405-23.2024.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchEndocytic membrane retrievalSynaptic vesiclesSynaptic exocytosisMembrane retrievalEndocytic compartmentsMolecular machineryRecycling of synaptic vesiclesReserve poolMembrane capacitance measurementsRibbon synapses of inner hair cellsElectron microscopy reconstructionsAuditory synaptopathyMutant miceSynaptic endocytosisCell-specific knockout miceHuman homologMembrane-proximalHair cellsAuditory hair cellsMolecular basisEndocytosisRibbon synapsesInner hair cellsHearing lossDMXL2High-throughput characterization of functional variants highlights heterogeneity and polygenicity underlying lung cancer susceptibility
Long E, Patel H, Golden A, Antony M, Yin J, Funderburk K, Feng J, Song L, Hoskins J, Amundadottir L, Hung R, Amos C, Shi J, Rothman N, Lan Q, Consortium I, Choi J. High-throughput characterization of functional variants highlights heterogeneity and polygenicity underlying lung cancer susceptibility. American Journal Of Human Genetics 2024, 111: 1405-1419. PMID: 38906146, PMCID: PMC11267514, DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.05.021.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchGenome-wide association studiesGenome-wide association study lociFunctional variantsTranscriptional activityAllelic transcriptional activityLung cancer susceptibilityRisk-associated lociPotential functional variantsCell type-specific expressionRisk-associated variantsLung cancer cell growthNon-protein-codingComprehensive functional analysisTranscription factor analysisCancer susceptibilityCancer cell growthGWAS lociEpigenomic dataCRISPR interferenceAssociation studiesLinkage disequilibriumAllelic effectsSignificant variantsGenetic variantsSusceptibility genes
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