Ke Xu, MD
Professor of PsychiatryDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Appointments
Psychiatry
Primary
Additional Titles
Director of Stress Epigenetics, Yale Stress Center
Staff Psychiatrist, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
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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
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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
- Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative
Education & Training
- Resident
- Yale School of Medicine (2011)
- MD
- West China College of Medicine, Sichuan University (2007)
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Genetics, Behavioral; Mental Disorders
Public Health Interests
Substance Use, Addiction; Mental Health; Genetics, Genomics, Epigenetics
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.
Hongyu Zhao, PhD
John Krystal, MD
Amir Valizadeh
Amy Justice, MD, PhD
Joel Gelernter, MD
Matthew Girgenti, PhD
22Publications
250Citations
Publications
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, 114445. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.114445.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsPost-traumatic stress disorderDNA methylation patternsDNA methylation featuresDNA methylation profilesStudies of ketamineBlood DNA methylation profilesBenefits of ketamineTreatment responseNear genesRisk lociMethylation sitesMethylation patternsMethylation featuresStress disorderMethylation profilesGlutamatergic signalingResponse subgroupsKetamineClinical measuresClinical variablesRandomized studyImmune regulationBiological variablesLociCpGsGene 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 ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsMethylome-wide association studiesAdmixed populationsComplex traitsLocal ancestryAssociation studiesDNA methylationAssociated with complex traitsLocal ancestry informationPopulations of European ancestryCpG methylation levelsNon-European populationsMeasurement of methylationAncestry informationCpG sitesMethylation levelsEuropean ancestryEpigenetic underpinningsCpGAncestryTraitsMethylationAmerican populationAfrican American populationDNAPopulationOptimization 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, 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 ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPost-traumatic stress disorderPrefrontal cortexDorsolateral prefrontal cortexHuman prefrontal cortexTraumatic stress responseHuman brainDepressive disorderStress disorderTrauma exposureCell type-specific contextRegulatory mechanismsGABAergic transmissionCell-type clusteringCell type-specific mannerMolecular regulatory mechanismsGlucocorticoid signalingGene expression changesChromatin dynamicsCredible variantsDisordersTranscriptional regulationEpigenetic dataCortexPersistent effectsPolygenic disorderRace-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 PMID: 40232770, PMCID: PMC12354006, DOI: 10.1037/tra0001888.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsEmotion regulationLifetime adversityBlack participantsAssess emotion regulationEmotion regulation difficultiesEmotion Regulation ScaleSignificant three-way interactionEffects of adversityBlack adultsThree-way interactionAdversity InventoryRegulation difficultiesRegulation ScaleGrimAge accelerationRegulate emotionsAssaultive traumaTraumatic eventsRace-related differencesNon-Hispanic black adultsWhite participantsEmotionsAdversityRacial differencesCross-sectional studyRace-related disparities512 Predicting outcomes of lifestyle and stress reduction interventions for obesity with DNA methylation and psychological measures
Harvanek Z, Li C, Xu K, Jastreboff A, Sinha R. 512 Predicting outcomes of lifestyle and stress reduction interventions for obesity with DNA methylation and psychological measures. Journal Of Clinical And Translational Science 2025, 9: 150-150. PMCID: PMC12050514, DOI: 10.1017/cts.2024.1093.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsStress reduction interventionsReduction interventionsLinear mixed modelsActivity counselingLifestyle interventionPsychological measuresObesity-related outcomesIntervention control groupBaseline psychological measuresEffects of lifestyleYears of obesityRisk of comorbiditiesEpigenetic age accelerationNumerous health issuesAssociated with obesityPost-interventionRandomized-controlled trialsReduce obesityHealth issuesYear Follow-UpDecreased riskHOMA-IRLifestylePsychological factorsInterventionTranscriptomic 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 Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSimian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected macaquesPrevalence of cannabis useSIV-infected macaquesChronic immune activationHIV-infected human cellsEpithelial cell proliferationModulate immune responsesSystematic reviewSIV/HIV infectionHIV infectionPreclinical evidencePathways related to inflammationImmune activationCannabis useMicro-RNA expressionImmunomodulatory roleImmunomodulatory effectsReduce inflammationImmune responseTetrahydrocannabinolComprehensive searchCell proliferationTranscriptomic alterationsMethodological qualityPWHAberrant 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 ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCD4+ T cellsHIV-1 reservoirHIV-1 latencyT cellsHIV-1Aberrant DNA methylationMechanisms of HIV-1 latencyViral replicationVirally suppressed womenDNA methylationHIV-1 integration sitesHIV-1 replicationMolecular targetsDifferentially methylated CpG sitesImmune defenceDNA methylation sequencingHost epigenetic landscapeDNA methylation sitesHIV-1 DNA integrationDifferentially methylated sitesHost genome integrityInterferon signaling genesCure HIVHost-virus interactionsCD4
2024
Multiomic Network Analysis Identifies Dysregulated Neurobiological Pathways in Opioid Addiction
Sullivan K, Kainer D, Lane M, Cashman M, Miller J, Garvin M, Townsend A, Quach B, Willis C, Kruse P, Gaddis N, Mathur R, Corradin O, Maher B, Scacheri P, Sanchez-Roige S, Palmer A, Troiani V, Chesler E, Kember R, Kranzler H, Justice A, Xu K, Aouizerat B, Hancock D, Johnson E, Jacobson D, Program V. Multiomic Network Analysis Identifies Dysregulated Neurobiological Pathways in Opioid Addiction. Biological Psychiatry 2024, 98: 11-22. PMID: 39615775, PMCID: PMC12119972, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.11.013.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsGenome-wide association studiesSubstance use disordersOpioid use disorderAddiction treatmentOpioid addictionDorsolateral prefrontal cortexOpioid addiction treatmentMulti-omics network analysisPrefrontal cortexPrescription opioid misuseSystems biology approachNeurobiological pathwaysOpioid overdose victimsUse disorderOverdose victimsAddictionAssociation studiesEpigenetic dataOpioid misuseOpioidDLPFCERK pathwayBiology approachMulti-OmicsGene targeting
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
A longitudinal study of the effects of cannabis exposure on neuro-development in adolescents and young adults
HIC ID2000024543RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date01/31/2021Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge13 years - 25 years
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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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
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News
- 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
- July 24, 2023Source: Neurobiology of Stress
Greater Stress and Trauma Mediate Race-Related Differences in Epigenetic Age Between Black and White Young Adults in a Community Sample
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