浙大胡海岚教授,胡海岚 z-bio 2024-11-26 805

　　Is the result of 1 Cell, 3 Nature, and 4 Science impressive enough?

　　There is a female scientist at Zhejiang University who is both beautiful and talented. Although she may not be well-known to the public, those who know her grades will praise her as a powerhouse!

　　She is Professor Hu Hailan, Senior Researcher, Doctoral Supervisor, Executive Director of the Neuroscience Center at Zhejiang University, and Dean of the School of Neuroscience and Brain Medicine at Zhejiang University.

　　Awards received:

　　2012 National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars;

　　2013 Meiji Life Science Outstanding Award;

　　The 12th China Young Female Scientist Award in 2015;

　　The 14th China Youth Science and Technology Award, Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor of the Ministry of Education, Young and Middle aged Science and Technology Innovation Leading Talent, and Tan Jiazhen Life Science Award in 2016;

　　In 2017, the National "Ten Thousand Talents Program" awarded the "Zhenxi Scholar" award in 2018, and the Ministry of Science and Technology recognized the "Top Ten Scientific Advances in China";

　　2019 IBRO Kemali Neuroscience International Award and Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Science and Technology Progress Award from the International Brain Research Organization;

　　The 2nd National Innovation Excellence Award in 2020 and the honorary title of "National March 8th Red Flag Bearer" in 2019; 2021 UNESCO World Outstanding Women Scientists Award

　　Other people's children

　　Hu Hailan has been a 'child of someone else's family' since childhood. She attended Hangzhou No.2 High School in high school and was admitted to the Biology Department of Peking University in her senior year due to excellent grades.

　　After completing his undergraduate studies in the Department of Biology at Peking University in 1996, he went to the University of California, Berkeley in the United States to pursue a doctoral degree in neurobiology under the guidance of Dr. Corey Goodman. During this period, he demonstrated a strong interest and outstanding talent in neuroscience.

　　So after graduating with her PhD, she joined Dr. Julius Zhu's laboratory at the University of Virginia in the United States for postdoctoral research. In 2004, she transferred to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the United States (known as the "cradle of molecular biology") to continue her postdoctoral research, further deepening her professional knowledge and skills in the field of neuroscience.

　　In December 2008, Hu Hailan decided to return to China and join the Institute of Neuroscience of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as the head of the research group on neural circuits and behavioral plasticity, and also became a member of the "Hundred Talents Program" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In May 2015, I transferred to Zhejiang University and have been employed by both the Qiu Shi Advanced Research Institute and the Neuroscience Research Center of the School of Medicine at Zhejiang University. I have been in this position ever since.

　　For many years, Hu Hailan has focused on the study of advanced brain functions and related diseases, discovering the brain mechanism of the "winner effect" in social competition, and revealing that postnatal experience can change innate weakness by reshaping neural circuits; A new interpretation of the causes of depression has been proposed from multiple levels such as molecules, cells, and systems, providing new ideas for the development of better and safer antidepressant drugs. Her work not only enriches human understanding of brain function, but also provides new ideas and methods for the treatment of related diseases.

　　Three nominations, or the next academician?

　　Professor Hu Hailan's ability to win the title of Outstanding Youth within three years of returning to China should not be underestimated. In 2019, she was awarded the 12th IBRO Kemali International Prize, becoming the first Asian scientist to receive this honor. This award is presented every two years to recognize scientists under the age of 45 who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of basic and clinical neuroscience worldwide. In previous awards, it was largely monopolized by scientists from Europe and the Americas. After the announcement of the award, People's Daily praised Hu Hailan as the "number one person in Asia! Double explosive in strength and appearance".

　　Subsequently, in 2021, Professor Hu Hailan was awarded the "World Outstanding Female Scientist Achievement Award" jointly established by UNESCO and L'Oreal Group of France.

　　It is worth noting that the previous six Chinese winners were all academicians, including Yan Ning, the winner in 2024, who was elected as an academician of the CAS Member the previous year.

　　Professor Hu Hailan's achievement further consolidates her position in the international scientific community, and many people are speculating that Professor Hu Hailan should have a good chance of being elected as a new academician.

　　This year's top issue has been released again

　　Recently, Professor Hu Hailan's team from Zhejiang University published an article titled "Neuron astrocyte Coupling in Lateral Habenula Mediates Depressive like Behaviors" on the preprint platform bioRxiv. This study delves into the interactions between neurons and astrocytes in the lateral habenula nucleus and how they couple to affect depressive like behavior.

　　Research content:

　　This study used free moving mouse multi brain area calcium imaging recording technology and found that stress can induce unique bimodal responses in LHb neurons and rapid responses in astrocytes. The calcium signaling of LHb astrocytes is dependent on alpha 1A adrenergic receptors and is associated with the circulating neural network between LHb and locus coeruleus (LC). Through the use of glial neurotransmitters glutamate and ATP/adenosine, LHb astrocytes mediate the second wave activation of local LHb neurons and the release of norepinephrine (NE). Activation or inhibition of calcium signaling in LHb astrocytes can promote or prevent stress-induced depressive like behavior, respectively.

　　These results confirm the stress induced positive feedback loop of the LHb LC axis, in which astrocytes are a key signaling link. The discovery of this significant neuron glial cell interaction may provide a new perspective for stress management and prevention of depression.

　　Science (IF=44.7)

　　On August 9, 2024, Hu Hailan's team published an article titled "Brain Region Specific Action of Ketamine as a Rapid" in the top journal Science, further elaborating on the antidepressant mechanism of ketamine.

　　Research content:

　　This study found that ketamine, as an NMDAR dependent open channel blocker, has specificity in its main area of action and antidepressant effect. In a depression like mouse model, ketamine can rapidly inhibit NMDAR currents in the "anti reward center" of the brain - the lateral habenular nucleus (LHb) neurons, while hippocampal CA1 neurons are not affected. Local knockout of the NMDAR subunit NR1 of LHb can block the antidepressant effect of ketamine and the resulting increase in hippocampal serotonin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels.

　　Therefore, ketamine exerts its effects by targeting specific brain regions and NMDAR in depressive states, with LHb being its main target. The persistence of neural activity and the size of the postsynaptic NMDAR reserve pool jointly determine this region specific effect. This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the antidepressant mechanism of ketamine and provides a basis for designing more precise and effective treatment methods for depression.

　　It is reported that Professor Hu Hailan has been nominated for the position of academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences multiple times. Perhaps there will be good news soon?

　　Her team is also very awesome. Previously, a student asked, "Do each of your direct PhD graduates have a CNS?" She confidently responded, "So far, I have supervised five direct PhD graduates, and they have all successfully published a Science paper with the first author or co first author authorship