Yao Huang

I pursued a B.S. in Anesthesiology at Chongqing Medical University, where I led a two-year research project investigating how cigarette smoke alters the lower respiratory tract microbiota in mice. During my M.S. at Xuzhou Medical University, I joined Professor Can Gao’s lab and focused on the gut-brain axis in depression. I explored whether adenosine could alleviate depressive behavior by modulating the gut microbiota. After two years of animal and clinical research, I found that adenosine restored microbial balance and improved depressive symptoms. In 2023, I joined Professor Qingsong Liu’s lab at the Medical College of Wisconsin as an exchange student, contributing to studies on the neural mechanisms of addiction. I quickly mastered advanced techniques like patch-clamp, immunohistochemistry, optogenetics, and fiber photometry.

With my interdisciplinary training and growing technical expertise, I’m excited to pursue a Ph.D. and continue exploring neurological disorders and translational biomedical research at MCW.

My research interest is studying the mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases, especially depression. Depression is becoming more common, but treatment options are still limited. This makes it really important to find new and better ways to treat it.