NTU Neuropharmacology Lab
Research Field
| 1980-2001 | Teaching Assistant, Lecturer, Associate Professor, Dept. Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. |
| 1995-1996 | Visiting Scientist, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, USA. |
| 2014-2020 | Director, Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. |
| 2002-Present | Professor, Dept. Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. |
| 2011-Present | Professor, Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. |
| 2015-Present | Visiting Professor, Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, Taiwan. |
| 2022-Present | Visiting Professor, School of Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. |
electrophysiological approaches in brain slices containing the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG), a crucial area for initiating descending pain inhibition, to characterize pharmacological properties of several ligands of nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) peptide (NOP) receptors for several years. In the meantime, we have also revealed neuroplasticity changes in the PAG of animals modeling neuropathic pain. We also accomplished several studies elucidating mechanisms of actions of several neuropeptides and pain-modulating compounds in the PAG. Among these, the orexin system especially catches our eyes. Recently, we found that the ventrolateral PAG is a supraspinal antinociceptive site of orexins, and this antinociceptive effect of orexins is comparable to m-opioids but is opioid-independent. Importantly, this effect is mediated through a mechanism involving orexin OX1 receptors and endocannabinoid (eCB) in the PAG. Importantly, we found this orexin-initiated eCB signaling in the PAG contributes to the phenomenon of stress-induced analgesia, and, surprisingly. also to acupuncture analgesia via median nerve stimulation. Interestingly, this signaling also exists in the ventral tegmental area and contributes to stress-induced extinguished cocaine seeking. Kindly refer to Other Publications below.
A drug development project was initiated by a clinical case study where we found a local herb effectively alleviated intractable motor tics. From this herb, we identified an active constituent, hispidulin that mainly acted as a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the α6 subunit-containing GABAA receptors (α6GABAARs) in the cerebellum. This suggests the α6GABAAR is a potential novel target for treating neuropsychiatric disorders. Since hispidulin is not selective to α6GABAARs, the findings of α6GABAAR-selective pyrazoloquinolinones by the chemistry group led by Jams Cook (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee) and Werner Sieghart (Medical University of Vienna) prompted me to initiate an international collaboration team dedicating to develop α6GABAAR-slective PAMs as a novel therapy for neuropsychiatric disorders. Thereafter, we found, unexpectedly, that α6GABAARs are also highly expressed in trigeminal ganglia, a hub for migraine pathogenesis, and α6GABAAR-slective PAMs are also potential novel anti-migraine agents. Now, we therefore selected migraine as the first clinical indication pursued in this drug development project. This is based on the advice from clinical trial experts that the clinical trial endpoints in migraine patents are more feasible than in patients with psychiatric disorders.
| 2001 | Poster Award, 3rd EPHAR Congress, Federation of European Pharmacological Societies, Lyon, France. | |
| 2002 | Young Investigator Award Finalist, The XIV World Congress of Pharmacology, IUPHAR, San Francisco, USA. | |
2003 2004 | Distinguished Research Award, Pharmacology Society in Taiwan, Taiwan. Research Achievement Award, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. | |
2017 2018 2019 2020 | Future Technology Breakthrough Award, Minister of Science and Technology, Taiwan, 2017. Outstanding Research Award, Minister of Science and Technology, Taiwan. The 15th Tien Te Lee Outstanding Biomedical Award, Taiwan. Tu Tsung-Ming Lecture Award, 113th Annual Meeting of Formosan Medical Association, Taiwan. | |
National Taiwan University School of Pharmacy BS
National Taiwan University Graduate Institute of Pharmacology MS
National Taiwan University Graduate Institute of Pharmacology PhD
2 Vacancies
Job Description
The experience in handling animals, mice or rats, and animal behavioral studies is a plus.
Preferred Intern Education Level
BS/MS/PhD
Skill sets or Qualities
The experience in handling animals, mice or rats, and animal behavioral studies is a plus.