Rui Chang, PhD
Cards
About
Titles
Assistant Professor in Neuroscience and of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Biography
Rui Chang received his B.S. in Biological Sciences and Biotechnology from Tsinghua University, China in 2005. He then studied sensory transduction with Emily Liman and earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Southern California in 2011. He completed his postdoctoral training with Stephen Liberles at Harvard Medical School, where he investigated how body sensory cues are monitored by the brain through the vagus nerve, and how these internal signals regulate whole body physiology. He joined both the Department of Neuroscience and the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale University School of Medicine in January 2018.
The Chang lab uses state-of-the-art molecular, genetic, and imaging approaches including single-cell gene expression profiling, virus-based anatomical mapping, in vivo imaging, optogenetics, and chemogenetics to reveal the physiological functions of diverse organ-to-brain circuits. The goal is to better understand the important body-brain interface, and to develop novel neuronal-based therapeutic strategies for disease intervention.
Appointments
Neuroscience
Assistant ProfessorFully JointCellular & Molecular Physiology
Assistant ProfessorFully Joint
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Research Associate
- Harvard Medical School (2017)
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Harvard Medical School (2017)
- PhD
- University of Southern California, Neuroscience (2011)
- BS
- Tsinghua University, Biological Sciences and Biotechnology (2005)
Research
Overview
The vagus nerve is a major body-brain axis that relays critical sensory information from the neck, chest, and abdomen, and controls basic autonomic functions of the respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, and immune systems. Surgical, electrical, or pharmacological control of vagus nerve activity impacts numerous diseases. Our recent studies discover a multidimensional coding architecture of the vagal interoceptive system that ensures effective and efficient signal communication from visceral organs to the brain.
The Chang lab has special interests in the neuro-cardiac interactions as well as gut-brain axis in Parkinson’s disease.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Links & Media
News
- August 09, 2022
Does Parkinson’s Disease Begin in the Gut?
- March 16, 2022
Revealing Communications Between Brain and Body
- January 09, 2020
Cellular and Molecular Physiology Annual Retreat 2019
- October 01, 2019
Yale Scientists Win NIH Awards for Pioneering Work