Ke Xu, MD
Professor of PsychiatryDownloadHi-Res Photo
Cards
Appointments
Psychiatry
Primary
Additional Titles
Director of Stress Epigenetics, Yale Stress Center
Staff Psychiatrist, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Contact Info
Appointments
Psychiatry
Primary
Additional Titles
Director of Stress Epigenetics, Yale Stress Center
Staff Psychiatrist, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Contact Info
Appointments
Psychiatry
Primary
Additional Titles
Director of Stress Epigenetics, Yale Stress Center
Staff Psychiatrist, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Contact Info
About
Copy Link
Titles
Professor of Psychiatry
Director of Stress Epigenetics, Yale Stress Center
Positions outside Yale
Staff Psychiatrist, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Biography
Dr. Xu is a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and holds a position as Staff Psychiatrist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Her research is dedicated to exploring the complex interactions between stress and the epigenome, aiming to uncover how these interactions contribute to the development of stress-related symptoms and disorders such as substance use. This important work has led Dr. Xu to investigate a broad spectrum of behavioral and medical conditions in diverse populations. Dr. Xu is engaged in the field of social epigenomics that helps us understanding the biological underpinnings of the effects of social environments on health.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
Psychiatry
ProfessorPrimaryBiomedical Informatics & Data Science
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Biomedical Informatics & Data Science
- Division of Addictions
- Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP)
- Psychiatry
- Xu Lab
- Yale Center for the Science of Cannabis and Cannabinoids
- Yale Stress Center
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- Resident
- Yale School of Medicine (2011)
- MD
- West China College of Medicine, Sichuan University (2007)
Research
Copy Link
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Genetics, Behavioral; Mental Disorders
Public Health Interests
Genetics, Genomics, Epigenetics; Mental Health; Substance Use, Addiction
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Ke Xu's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Ke Xu's research output by year.
Amy Justice, MD, PhD
Hongyu Zhao, PhD
John Krystal, MD
Hongyu Li
Joel Gelernter, MD
Amir Valizadeh
18Publications
382Citations
Publications
2026
Central amygdala single-nucleus atlas reveals chromatin and gene transcription dynamics in human alcohol use disorder
Lee C, Hwang A, McRiley D, Lee J, Thibodeau G, Duman C, Zhang X, Skarica M, Coudriet J, Xu S, Terwilliger R, Sliby A, Wang J, Nguyen T, Liu Y, Li H, Dai Y, Duan Z, Lei Y, Lin Y, Glausier J, Lewis D, Gelernter J, Holtzheimer P, Xu K, Zhou H, Zhao H, Thompson S, Krystal J, Che A, Taylor J, Zhang J, Girgenti M. Central amygdala single-nucleus atlas reveals chromatin and gene transcription dynamics in human alcohol use disorder. Nature Communications 2026, 17: 1634. PMID: 41554730, PMCID: PMC12905162, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-68351-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricUBD: incorporating uncertainty in cell type proportion estimates from bulk samples to infer cell-type-specific profiles
Cheng Y, Lin C, Li H, Xu K, Zhao H. UBD: incorporating uncertainty in cell type proportion estimates from bulk samples to infer cell-type-specific profiles. Briefings In Bioinformatics 2026, 27: bbaf711. PMID: 41520227, PMCID: PMC12895075, DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbaf711.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThis study demonstrates that Uncertainty-aware Bayesian Deconvolution (UBD) improves the accuracy of cell-type-specific data estimation by modeling uncertainty in cell type proportions, enhancing biological signal detection.
2025
Combining DNA methylation features and clinical characteristics predicts ketamine treatment response for PTSD
Valizadeh A, Roache J, Zhang X, Hu Y, Gueorguieva R, Averill L, Ranganathan M, Wang Z, Williamson D, Shiroma P, Girgenti M, Petrakis I, López-Roca A, Young-McCaughan S, Keane T, Peterson A, Abdallah C, Krystal J, Xu K, PTSD F. Combining DNA methylation features and clinical characteristics predicts ketamine treatment response for PTSD. IScience 2025, 29: 114445. PMID: 41561376, PMCID: PMC12814687, DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.114445.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricGene expression differences in differentially methylated sites associated with HIV status and cocaine use
Earley E, Quach B, Fang F, Bierut L, Milloy M, Hayashi K, DeBeck K, Hancock D, Aouizerat B, Xu K, Johnson E. Gene expression differences in differentially methylated sites associated with HIV status and cocaine use. Clinical And Translational Medicine 2025, 15: e70466. PMID: 40968693, PMCID: PMC12446875, DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.70466.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchIncorporating local ancestry information to predict genetically associated DNA methylation in admixed populations
Cheng Y, Zhou G, Li H, Zhang X, Justice A, Martinez C, Aouizerat B, Xu K, Zhao H. Incorporating local ancestry information to predict genetically associated DNA methylation in admixed populations. Briefings In Bioinformatics 2025, 26: bbaf325. PMID: 40622482, PMCID: PMC12232425, DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbaf325.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchOptimization of methylation capture sequencing workflow in formalin fixed tissue from oral squamous cell carcinoma patients
Dong M, Asam K, Thomas C, Callahan N, Walker P, Nguyen K, Ye Y, Xu K, Aouizerat B, Viet C. Optimization of methylation capture sequencing workflow in formalin fixed tissue from oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. Oral Oncology 2025, 167: 107462. PMID: 40582262, PMCID: PMC13249506, DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2025.107462.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsSingle-cell transcriptomic and chromatin dynamics of the human brain in PTSD
Hwang A, Skarica M, Xu S, Coudriet J, Lee C, Lin L, Terwilliger R, Sliby A, Wang J, Nguyen T, Li H, Wu M, Dai Y, Duan Z, Srinivasan S, Zhang X, Lin Y, Cruz D, Deans P, Huber B, Levey D, Glausier J, Lewis D, Gelernter J, Holtzheimer P, Friedman M, Gerstein M, Sestan N, Brennand K, Xu K, Zhao H, Krystal J, Young K, Williamson D, Che A, Zhang J, Girgenti M. Single-cell transcriptomic and chromatin dynamics of the human brain in PTSD. Nature 2025, 643: 744-754. PMID: 40533550, PMCID: PMC12267058, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09083-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricRace-Related Differences in Protective Effects of Emotion Regulation Against GrimAge Acceleration Are Driven by Assaultive Trauma
Chowdhary A, Holloway T, Xu K, Sinha R, Harvanek Z. Race-Related Differences in Protective Effects of Emotion Regulation Against GrimAge Acceleration Are Driven by Assaultive Trauma. Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice And Policy 2025, 10.1037/tra0001888. PMID: 40232770, PMCID: PMC12354006, DOI: 10.1037/tra0001888.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTranscriptomic Alterations Induced by Tetrahydrocannabinol in SIV/HIV Infection: A Systematic Review
Valizadeh A, Veenhuis R, Bradley B, Xu K. Transcriptomic Alterations Induced by Tetrahydrocannabinol in SIV/HIV Infection: A Systematic Review. International Journal Of Molecular Sciences 2025, 26: 2598. PMID: 40141240, PMCID: PMC11942185, DOI: 10.3390/ijms26062598.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAberrant DNA methylation of genes regulating CD4+ T cell HIV‐1 reservoir in women with HIV
Xu K, Zhang X, Asam K, Quach B, Page G, Konkle‐Parker D, Martinez C, Lahiri C, Topper E, Cohen M, Kassaye S, DeHovitz J, Kuniholm M, Archin N, Valizadeh A, Tien P, Marconi V, Hancock D, Johnson E, Aouizerat B. Aberrant DNA methylation of genes regulating CD4+ T cell HIV‐1 reservoir in women with HIV. Clinical And Translational Medicine 2025, 15: e70267. PMID: 40070009, PMCID: PMC11896887, DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.70267.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitations
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
A longitudinal study of the effects of cannabis exposure on neuro-development in adolescents and young adults
IRB ID2000024543RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date01/31/2021Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge13 years - 25 years
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Copy Link
Honors
honor Lustman Resident Research Award: the first place
06/10/2011Yale School of Medicine AwardDetailsUnited Stateshonor APA/Merck &Co Early Academic Career Research Award
05/12/2011National AwardDetailsUnited States
News
Copy Link
News
- February 11, 2026Source: iScience
Combining DNA Methylation Features and Clinical Characteristics Predicts Ketamine Treatment Response for PTSD
- August 19, 2025Source: Yale News
Timing is Everything: Finding Treatment Windows in Genetic Brain Disease
- May 20, 2024Source: Journal of Behavioral Medicine
Childhood Adversity, Accelerated GrimAge, and Associated Health Consequences
- December 07, 2023
VA/Yale Researchers Lead Multi-ancestry Study of Genetics of Problematic Alcohol Use
Get In Touch
Copy Link
Contacts
Email
Appointment Number