KANG Lab Members
|
I still remember the first day I observed diverse animal behavioral responses to different antidepressant treatments when I was an undergraduate student. This experience left a long-lasting impression on me, consolidated in my brain, aroused my curiosity about external stimuli-induced neurotransmitter dynamics, and shaped my research career to continuously focus on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders. After B.S. in Life Sciences and M.S. in Neurobiology (Mentor: Dr. Kyung-Ho Shin) at Korea University, I completed my Ph.D. in Pharmacology at UC Irvine under the mentorship of Dr. Naoto Hoshi, investigating the signaling cascades of M-channel complex, which is relevant to epilepsy, pain, and substance use disorders. As a Postdoctoral Fellow at Rutgers University with Dr. Jiang-Hong Ye, I expanded my expertise in ex vivo electrophysiology, opto-/chemo-genetics, and behavioral assessment while studying neuronal and astrocytic roles in alcohol consumption, post-alcohol comorbid anxiety, depression, and pain. In 2017, I joined Mayo Clinic College of Medicine as a Research Associate and was promoted to Assistant Professor of Pharmacology in 2018 (Mentor: Dr. Doo-Sup Choi), where I enjoyed to examine astrocytic modulation of reward-seeking behavioral patterns in a context dependent manner. In 2021, I started my independent lab at Augusta University Medical College of Georgia, and relocated to UTHealth Houston in 2026. My current research program continues to explore how interactions between astrocytes and neurons shape behaviors. |
PI: Seungwoo Kang, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
IMM-Center for Neuroimmunology and Glial Biology, UTHealth Houston
[email protected]
UTHealth IMM Profile
Graduate School Faculty Profile
IMM-Center for Neuroimmunology and Glial Biology, UTHealth Houston
[email protected]
UTHealth IMM Profile
Graduate School Faculty Profile
Lab Members
Aubrey Bennett, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
(Co-Mentoring with Drs. Long Jun Wu and Xinzhu Yu)
(Co-Mentoring with Drs. Long Jun Wu and Xinzhu Yu)
Desh Deepak Ratna, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Hyunjung Kim, M.S.
Research Associate
Chloe Yooree Woo, B.S.
Research Assistant
Lab Alumni
- Eunice Arriola, BS CURS Student. Major in Psychology, Augusta University, 2024-2025
- Bansari Patel, BS Student in honors program, Major in Biology, Augusta University – Thesis Advisor, 2024-2025
- Kaleb Lousey, BS Student in honors program, Major in Psychology, Augusta University, 2024-2025
- David Jury, BS Student, Major in Cell biology, Augusta University, 2024
- Rithwik Tamilselvan, Research Assistant, 2025
- Beth Rodgers, Rotation Graduate Student in Biomedical Sciences PhD program, Augusta University, 2024
- Peter Biggs, Rotation Graduate Student in Biomedical Sciences PhD program, Augusta University, 2022
- Ajay Athota, BS/MD program, Major in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Augusta University, 2024-2025
- David Thomas, Graduate Student in MD program, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, 2022-2024
- Lesley Barksdale, BS Student, Major in Chemistry (Medicinal Chemistry), Augusta University, 2022-2023
- Kishan Trivedi, BS Student, Major in Cell Biology, Augusta University, 2022-2023
- Sahil Patel, BS Student, Major in Cell Biology, Augusta University, 2022-2023
- Ni Na Ngo, BS Student, Major in Cell and Molecular Biology, Augusta University, 2022
- Vasu Kapoor, Graduate Student in MD program, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, 2022
Upper figure: Electrophysiological recordings to show the spontanous excitatory post-synaptic currents (sEPSCs) in the direct-pathway median spiny neuron in the Dorsomedial Striatum