Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, United States
My name is Qi Ye and I am a postdoc associate at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, U.S. My long-term research interest is investigating how metabolic dysfunction, caused either by genetic variants or environmental insults, contributes to human neurological disorders, particularly the ones with glial abnormality. In the Lee lab, I am studying glial development and glia-related brain disorders. While glial cells are critical for brain health and response to injury, the underlying mechanisms of glial development and related disorders remain poorly defined.
In addition, I am applying my expertise in metabolic research to glia-related brain disorders. My recent contributions have identified metabolic pathways that are important for glial function in several neurological disorders: a) White matter injury: My work has shown that inhibition of glial very long-chain fatty acids synthesis ameliorates the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis by suppressing autoimmune response and promoting oligodendrocyte differentiation. b) Ischemic stroke: My work demonstrated that Slc4a4, a glial-specific pH regulator, regulates astrocyte-endothelial cell communication at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by controlling astrocytic metabolism-chemokine coupling, thus contributing to BBB maintenance in the normal brain and BBB recovery after stroke. c) Glioma: Using human and mouse glioma models, my work has shown that Slc4a4 inhibits glioma tumorigenesis by regulating metabolic pathways in both cell autonomous (in glioma cells) and cell non-autonomous (within the tumor microenvironment) manners.
