Ya-Ping Tang, MD, PhD

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	Ya-Ping Tang, MD, PhD Associate Professor MEB - Medical Education Building 1901 Perdido Street, Room 6119 New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 568-2012 Fax: (504) 568-4392 ytang1@lsuhsc.edu
Degrees	BS Medicine - 1982 Luchow Medical College, Sichun, China MD Internal Medicine, Neurology - 1983 Luchow Medical College, Sichun, China MS Behavioral Pharmacology - 1989 Shanghai Second Medical University, Shanghai, China PhD Neurobiology & Molecular Biology - 1998 Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
Research Interests	The research program in Dr. Tang's lab is Mouse Behavioral Genetics. The long-term goal of this program is to understand the roles of genes in cognitive processes such as learning and memory as well as the role of gene mutations int he pathogenesis of certain brain diseases with memory deficits such as Alzheimer's disease. A significant advantage in this lab is the combination of multiple disciplinary approahces including molecular biology, histology/morphology, mouse genetics, electrophysiological (collaborating with our colleagues), and mouse behavioral approaches in their studies. Moreover, the use of conditional genetic approaches int his lab allows a time-dependent and/or neuronal cell types/brain region-specific analysis of gene function at the molecular, neuronal, morphological, and behavioral levels. The analyses at these levels provide a valuable way to eventually understand how gene controls brain functions and how gene mutations contribute to brain diseases. Currently, this lab is focusing on two main research topics: neurobiology of learning and memory and neurobiology of neurodegenerative diseases.
Selected Publications	Tang YP, Noda Y, and Nabeshima T (1997) Involvement of activation of dopaminergic neuronal system in learning and memory deficits associated with experimental mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Eur J Neurosci 9: 1720-1727. Tang YP, Shimizu E, Dube G, Rampon C, Keercher G, Zhou M, Liu G, and Tsien JZ (1999) Genetic enhancement of learning and memory in mice. Nature 401: 63-69. Rampon C, Tang YP, Goodhouse J, Shimizu E, Kyin M, and Tsien JZ (2000) Enrichment induces structural changes and recovery from nonspatial memory deficits in CA1 NMDAR1-knockout mice. Nat Neurosci 3: 238-244. Shimizu E, Tang YP, Rampon C. and Tsien JZ (2000) NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic reinforcement as a crucial process for memory consolidation. Science 290:1170-1174. Feng R, Rampon C, Tang YP, Shrom D, Jin J, Kyin M, Sopher, B, Miller MW, Ware CB, Martin GM, Kim SH, Langdon RB, Sisodia SS, Tsien JZ (2001) Deficient neurogenesis in presenilin-1 forebrain knockout mice prevents clearance of hippocampal memory traces. Neuron 32: 911-926. Nakajima A, Tang YP (2005) Genetic approaches to molecular/neuronal mechanisms underlying learning and memory in the mouse. J Pharmacol Sci 99: 1-5. Lazaroy O, Robinson J, Tang YP, Hairston IS, Korade-Mirnics Z, LeeV, Hersh LB, Sapolsky RM, Mirnics K, Sisodia SS(2005) Environmental enrichment reduces a-b levels and amyloid deposition in transgenic mice. Cell 120: 701-713. Chen Q, Nakajima A, Meacham C, Tang YP (2006) Elevated CCKergic tone constitutes an important molecular/neuronal mechanism for the expression of anxiety in the mouse. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103: 3881-3886. Kim SH, Tang YP, Sisodia SS (2006) A-beta star: a light onto synaptic dysfunction? Nat Med 12: 760-761. Chen Q, Nakajima A, Choi S-H, Xiong XL, Sisodia SS, Tang YP (2008) Adult neurogenesis is functionally associated with Alzheimer’s disease-like neurodegeneration in the mouse. Neurobiol Dis 29: 316-326. Chen Q, Nakajima A, Choi S-H, Xiong XL, Tang YP (2008) Loss of presenilin function causes Alzheimer’s disease-like neurodegeneration in the mouse. J Neurosci Res 86 1615-1625. Jiao J, Nakajima A, Janssen WGM, Bindokas V, Xiong XL, Morrison JH, Brorson JR, Tang YP (2008) Expression of NR2B in cerebellar granule cells specifically facilitates effect of motor training on motor learning. PLoS ONE e-1684: 1-11. *, these authors are co-first authors.

Associate Professor

Associate Professor