Overview

Positions and Employment
1986 to 1992 Instructor - Department of Anatomy, Nanjing Medical University
1992 to 1994 Assistant Professor - Department of Anatomy, Nanjing Medical University
1997 to 1999 Post-Doctoral Fellow - Department of Anesthesiology, University of
Virginia
1999 to 2000 Instructor - Department of Anesthesiology, Johns Hopkins University, USA
2001 to 2004 Assistant Professor - Department of Anesthesiology, Johns Hopkins
University,
2005 to 2013 Associate Professor - Department of Anesthesiology, Johns Hopkins
University
2013,7- Professor and Vice Chair of Research - Department of Anesthesiology, New
Jersey Medical School (NJMS)
Advisory Committees:
2009-2013 Junior Faculty Advisory Committee, Brain Science Institute at Hopkins
2009-2013 The Scholarship Oversight Committees for the Neonatology Fellows at Hopkins
2009-2013 Core Faculty in Interdisciplinary Training Program in Biobehavioral Pain
Research at Hopkins
2013- MD/PhD committee at NJMS, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Awards:
1996 Outstanding PhD Student from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
1996 Beckman Outstanding Young Scientist Award from BECKMAN Instruments.
1999 Remarkable Contribution to Nature and Science from the Chinese Academy of
Sciences
2011 Rita Allen Foundation Pain Scholar, APS
2017 Faculty of the Year Award, NJMS, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
2017 The New Jersey Health Foundation Excellence Research Award

Education

MSc, 1992, Nanjing Medical University, China
PHD, 1997, Shanghai Brain Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Science
MD, 1986, Nanjing Medical University, China

Curriculum Vitae

View CV

Languages

Chinese

Relevant Publications

Zhao X, Tang Z, Zhang H, Atianjoh FE, Zhao J, Liang L, Wang W, Guan, Kao SC, Tiwari V, Hoffman PN, Gao Y, Cui H, Li M, Dong X, Tao YX. A native long noncoding RNA contributes to neuropathic pain by silencing Kcna2 in primary afferent neurons. Nat Neurosci 16 (2013) 1024-1031.

Xu JT, Zhao J, Zhao X, Ligons D, Tiwari V, Lee CY, Atianjoh FE, Liang L, Zang W, Njoku D, Raja SN, Yaster M, Tao YX. Opioid receptor-triggered spinal mTORC1 activation contributes to morphine tolerance and hyperalgesia. J Clin Invest 124(2014)592-603.

Cui L, Miao X, Liang L, Abdus-Saboor I, Olson W, Fleming MS, Ma M, Tao YX, Luo W. Identification of early RET+ deep dorsal spinal cord interneurons in gating pain. Neuron (2016) 1-17.

Zhao JY, Liang L, Gu X, Li Z, Wu S, Sun L, Atianjoh FE, Feng J, Mo K, Jia S, Lutz BM, Bekker A, Nestler EJ, Tao YX. DNA methyltransferase DNMT3a contributes to neuropathic pain by repressing Kcna2 in primary afferent neurons. Nat. Commun. 8 (2017) 14712.

Li Y, Guo X, Sun L, Xiao J, Su S, Du S, Li Z, Wu S, Liu W, Mo K, Xia S, Chang YJ, Denis D, Tao YX. N6-methyladenosine demethylase FTO contributes to neuropathic pain by stabilizing G9a expression in primary sensory neurons. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2020 May 27;7(13):1902402.

Ma L, Yu L, Jiang BC, Wang J, Guo X, Huang Y, Ren J, Sun N, Gao DS, Ding H, Lu J, Zhou H, Zou L, Gao Y, Wang L, Sun K, Ming Y, Meng Z, Tao YX, Yan M. ZNF382 controls mouse neuropathic pain via silencer-based epigenetic inhibition of Cxcl13 in DRG neurons. J Exp Med. 2021 Dec 6;218(12):e20210920. doi: 10.1084/jem.20210920. Epub 2021 Nov 11

Pan Z, Du S, Wang K, Guo X, Mao Q, Feng X, Huang L, Wu S, Hou B, Chang YJ, Liu T, Chen T, Li H, Bachmann T, Bekker B, Hu H, Tao YX. Downregulation of a dorsal root ganglion-specifically enriched long noncoding RNA is required for neuropathic pain by negatively regulating RALY-triggered Ehmt2 expression. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2021 Jul, 8(13):e2004515. doi:10.1002/advs.202004515.

Du S, Wu S, Feng X, Wang B, Xia S, Liang L, Zhang L, Govindarajalu G, Bunk A, Kadakia F, Mao Q, Guo X, Zhao H, Berkman T, Liu T, Li H, Stillman J, Bekker A, Davidson S, Tao YX. A nerve injury- specific long noncoding RNA promotes neuropathic pain by increasing Ccl2 expression. J Clin Invest 2022; 132(13):e153563.

Wang B, Ma L, Guo X, Du S, Feng X, Liang Y, Govindarajalu G, Wu S, Liu T, Li H, Patel S, Bekker A, Hu H, Tao YX. A sensory neuron-specific long noncoding RNA reduces neuropathic pain by rescuing KCNN1 expression. Brain 2023 Apr 4:awad110. doi: 10.1093/brain/awad110

Lutz BM, Wu S, Gu X, Atianjoh FE, Li Z, Fox BM, Pollock DM, Tao YX. Endothelin type A receptors mediate pain in a mouse model of sickle cell disease. Haematologica. 103(2018):1124-1135.

Areas Of Interest

Cancer pain

Central sensitization

Chronic opioid tolerance

Chronic pain

Dorsal root ganglion

Epigenetics.

Glutamate receptors

Inflammatory pain

NMDA receptors

Neurpathic pain

Non-coding RNA

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia

Peripheral sensitization

Spinal cord

Transcription

Translation

Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying chronic pain and opioid tolerance

Research in my lab focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms
that underlie chronic pain and opioid-induced analgesic tolerance and hyperalgesia.
Chronic pain is a major public health problem. Despite intensive research into the
neurobiological mechanism of chronic pain during the past decades, our understanding of
chronic pain is still in its infancy and its treatment is often poorly managed by current
drugs. Opioids are still the gold standard for chronic pain management in the clinical
setting. However, the long-term use of the opioids produces opioid analgesic tolerance,
opioid-induced hyperalgesia, and other side effects. Thus, uncovering the mechanisms
underlying chronic pain and opioid-induced tolerance and hyperalgesia may develop novel
therapeutic strategies for prevention and/or treatment of these disorders.
Research projects in my laboratory have attempted to address questions regarding two
different aspects of pain and opioid analgesia: (1) how neuronal PDZ domain-containing
scaffolding proteins participate in the development and maintenance of chronic pain and
opioid-induced analgesic tolerance and hyperalgesia and (2) how peripheral noxious stimuli
change glutamate receptor subunit trafficking at synaptic and extrasynaptic sites of
dorsal horn neurons and whether these changes are required for chronic pain induction and
expression. We have made considerable measurable progress, including two approved patents
and one pending patent resulting from these studies.
Ongoing projects include: (1) Identification of long noncoding RNAs and their
involvements in chronic pain; (2) Translational regulation that underlies chronic opioid
tolerance and hyperalgesia; (3) Gene transcriptional changes in chronic pain; and (4)
Molecular mechanisms of sickle cell disease-associated pain. The analytical methodology
includes molecular biology, morphology, biochemistry, electrophysiology, and behavioral
tests.