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Faculty Detail    
Name HAOSHENG SUN
  
Campus Address MCLM 922 Zip 0005
Phone  (205) 975-2293
E-mail  sunh@uab.edu
Other websites
     


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology Assistant Professor
Secondary  Genetics Research Div  Genetics Research Div Assistant Professor
Secondary  Neurobiology  Neurobiology Assistant Professor
Center  Civitan International Research Center  Civitan International Research Center Assistant Professor
Center  Comprehensive Neuroscience Center  Comprehensive Neuroscience Center Assistant Professor
Center  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci Assistant Professor

Biographical Sketch 
Dr. Sun received his PhD in Neuroscience in 2014 in the laboratory of Dr. Eric Nestler at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he studied how chronic exposure adverse environmental stimuli such as stress or drugs of abuse led to long term transcriptional and chromatin changes that disrupt normal reward circuitry. He then went on to complete his postdoctoral training with Dr. Oliver Hobert, where using the model organism C. elegans, he examined the transcriptional programs that underlie the temporal maturation of post-mitotic nervous system during post-embryonic development.



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Transcriptional and Epigenetic regulation of neuronal development and plasticity in C. elegans and rodent models
Description
During the complex and intricately-timed sequence of nervous system development and maturation, significant and persistent disruptions to the dynamic gene regulatory process through genetic and environmental risks can result in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. Neuroscience research has contributed much to our understanding of early neural development in the embryonic and perinatal periods. The period from early post-natal life to young adulthood is equally critical for proper development of the mature brain, as extensive structural and behavioral plasticity are observed during these periods. However, much less is known about the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying neuronal maturation during post-natal development. The Sun Laboratory will utilize both C. elegans and rodent models, in combination advanced genomics, genetics, microscopy, and behavioral approaches, to understand gene-environment interplay in the regulation of post-embryonic post-mitotic nervous system maturation. This work will contribute to a novel understanding of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disease vulnerability and will inform new therapeutic targets.

Keywords
Transcription, Epigenetics, Chromatin, Neural development, C. elegans, mouse, neurodevelopmental disorders, neuropsychiatric disorders, genetics, environment