Hailan Hu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hu Hailan
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| 胡海岚 | |
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| Born | 1973 (age 51–52) |
| Alma mater | Peking University University of California, Berkeley Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |
| Known for | Neural circuits underlying social dominance, habenular neural circuits in depression |
| Awards | 2019 IBRO-Kemali International Prize 2016 Tan Jia Zhen Life Science Award 2015 Chinese Young Female scientist Award 2015 Changjiang Scholar Award 2015 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | Zhejiang University School of Medicine |
Hu Hailan (Chinese: 胡海岚; pinyin: Hú Hǎilán; born 1973) is a brilliant Chinese brain scientist. She is a professor and leads the Center for Neuroscience at Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China. Professor Hu studies how our brains control social behaviors. She also looks into brain changes linked to mental health issues like depression.
One of her big discoveries was finding out how a medicine called ketamine helps with depression very quickly. She found specific brain areas and pathways involved. Hu Hailan was also the first scientist from outside Europe and America to win the special IBRO-Kemali Prize in over 20 years. This shows how important her work is!
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Early Life and Learning
Hu Hailan was born in Dongyang, China, in 1973. She went to Peking University in Beijing for her first degree. In 1996, she earned her Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and molecular biology. This means she studied the chemistry of living things and how tiny parts of cells work.
After that, she moved to the United States. She worked as a research helper at the University of California, San Francisco. Then, she went to the University of California, Berkeley for her advanced studies. For her PhD, she studied how nerve cells connect in the brains of fruit flies (called Drosophila). She learned about special proteins that help guide these connections. She finished her PhD in 2002.
After her PhD, Hu Hailan continued her research at other famous labs. She worked at the University of Virginia and later at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. During this time, she explored how our brains form memories, especially strong emotional ones. She also studied a brain disorder called fragile X syndrome.
Her Amazing Research
In 2008, Professor Hu returned to China. She started her own research lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her lab focuses on two main areas. First, they study how social order works in mice. Second, they investigate how depression affects the brain. They also look at how fast-acting medicines like ketamine can help.
How Social Rank Works in the Brain
Professor Hu and her team are pioneers in understanding social rank. Social rank is like who is the leader or who is more dominant in a group. They study this in mice. In 2011, they found that certain brain cells in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) hold information about a mouse's social rank.
They discovered that mice with higher social rank had stronger connections in this brain area. If they changed these connections, a mouse's social rank could go up or down. This showed that these brain cells are very important for social rank.
Her team also looked at what happens in the brain when an animal wins a social contest. They found that activating a part of the brain called the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) made mice more likely to win. This area helps guide behaviors related to being dominant.
The "Tube Test"
To study social rank, Professor Hu's team created a clever test called the "tube test." Here's how it works:
- Two mice meet head-to-head in a narrow tube.
- Only one mouse can pass through.
- One mouse has to push the other out.
- The mouse that pushes the other out is the winner.
They repeat this test many times over several days. The mouse that wins most often and consistently is considered the dominant one. This test helps scientists understand how dominance is linked to brain activity.
Understanding Depression in the Brain
Professor Hu's team also studies how depression affects the brain. In 2013, they found that a brain area called the lateral habenula (LHb) plays a big role. They noticed that in depressed animals, the cells in this area were too active. This overactivity was linked to symptoms of depression.
They later found that special helper cells in the brain, called astrocytes, are also involved. These astrocytes have channels that control how active brain cells in the LHb are. By changing these channels, they could control the brain cell activity and even reduce depressive behaviors. This shows that both brain cells and helper cells work together in mental illnesses.
Ketamine and Depression
Professor Hu and her colleagues then looked at how ketamine works. Ketamine is known to be a fast-acting antidepressant. But exactly how it works wasn't fully clear. They found that ketamine helps by calming down the overactive brain cells in the lateral habenula. By blocking this overactivity, ketamine can quickly relieve symptoms of depression in animals. This discovery helps us understand how new medicines might treat depression.
Awards and Honors
Professor Hu Hailan has received many important awards for her groundbreaking work:
- 2022 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards
- 2019 Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation
- 2019 IBRO-Kemali International Prize for research in basic and clinical neurosciences
- 2016 Tan Jia Zhen Life Science Award
- 2015 Chinese Young Female Scientist Award
- 2015 Chang Jiang Scholar Award
- 2015 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science
- 2013 Meiji Life Science Outstanding Award
- 2012 Chinese Outstanding Youth Award
- 2012 and 2014 Excellent Mentorship Award of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- 2010-2012 Shanghai Pujiang Talent Award
- 2009-2012 Chinese Hundred Talent Plan Award
- 2003-2006 Damon Runyon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
- 2002 HHMI and IBRO fellowships for MBL Neurobiology Course
- 1998-2003 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowship
