Haining Zhong, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor, Vollum Institute
- Scientist, Vollum Institute
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, School of Medicine
Biography
Haining Zhong earned a B.A. in Biological Science and Biotechnology and B.Eng. in Electronics and Computer Science from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China in 1996. He received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2002. Zhong did postdoctoral training at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and then at the Janelia Farm Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 2010, he was appointed as an assistant scientist at the Vollum Institute and was promoted to scientist in 2015.
We study how the brain is regulated and changed to allow the animal to adapt to and excel in the ever-changing world. Our focus is on two types of regulations — neuromodulation and experience-dependent plasticity — using rodents as the experimental model. We harness the advantages of both in vitro and in vivo experiments depending on the specific question using a variety of approaches, including advanced microscopy, electrophysiology, optogenetics, mouse genetics, CRISPR-based gene editing, and computation. Because novel technology enables us to ask long standing questions in new ways, we also actively adapt and develop the relevant technologies, such as endogenous protein labeling, biosensors for subcellular signaling pathways and microscopy. Learn more about Dr. Zhong’s research at the Vollum Institute.
Education and training
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Degrees
- B.S., 1996, Tsinghua University
- Ph.D., 2002, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Areas of interest
- photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM)
- two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (2PFLIM)
- fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy
- CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing
- in vivo imaging of neuromodulation and subcellular signaling in awake animals
- protein and signaling dynamics during plasticity, cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling, labeling of endogenous proteins
- dopamine, striatum, mouse locomotion
Additional information
Honors and awards
- NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2011-2016)
- NARSAD Young Investigator Award, The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (2013-2015)
Publications
Publications
Cryo-electron tomographic investigation of native hippocampal glutamatergic synapses
eLifePKA regulation of neuronal function requires the dissociation of catalytic subunits from regulatory subunits
eLifeSchwann cell-secreted PGE2 promotes sensory neuron excitability during development
CellWidespread co-release of glutamate and GABA throughout the mouse brain
Communications BiologyBtbd11 supports cell-type-specific synaptic function
Cell ReportsA high-performance genetically encoded fluorescent indicator for in vivo cAMP imaging
Nature communicationsLabeling Endogenous Proteins Using CRISPR-mediated Insertion of Exon (CRISPIE)
Bio-protocolLocomotion activates PKA through dopamine and adenosine in striatal neurons
NatureSensitive genetically encoded sensors for population and subcellular imaging of cAMP in vivo
Nature MethodsDistinct in vivo dynamics of excitatory synapses onto cortical pyramidal neurons and parvalbumin-positive interneurons
Cell ReportsHigh-fidelity, efficient, and reversible labeling of endogenous proteins using crispr-based designer exon insertion
eLifeMyristoylation alone is sufficient for PKA catalytic subunits to associate with the plasma membrane to regulate neuronal functions
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaLive Neuron High-Content Screening Reveals Synaptotoxic Activity in Alzheimer Mouse Model Homogenates
Scientific ReportsDynamic assembly of ribbon synapses and circuit maintenance in a vertebrate sensory system
Nature communicationsVisualizing protein kinase A activity in head-fixed behaving mice using in vivo two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy
Journal of Visualized ExperimentsA Highly Sensitive A-Kinase Activity Reporter for Imaging Neuromodulatory Events in Awake Mice
NeuronUltrafast neuronal imaging of dopamine dynamics with designed genetically encoded sensors
ScienceLiberated PKA Catalytic Subunits Associate with the Membrane via Myristoylation to Preferentially Phosphorylate Membrane Substrates
Cell ReportsOntogenetic establishment of order-specific nuclear organization in the mammalian thalamus
Nature NeuroscienceA comprehensive excitatory input map of the striatum reveals novel functional organization
eLifeApplying superresolution localization-based microscopy to neurons
SynapseA comprehensive thalamocortical projection map at the mesoscopic level
Nature NeuroscienceLive imaging of endogenous PSD-95 using ENABLED
Journal of NeurosciencePhotoactivated localization microscopy (PALM)
Cold Spring Harbor ProtocolsPhoton capture and signalling by melanopsin retinal ganglion cells
Nature