Phosphodiesterases: CNS Functions and Diseases

Dr. Han-Ting Zhang received his M.D. from Southern Medical University (formerly the First Military Medical University) in Guangzhou and M.S. and Ph.D. of Pharmacology from Beijing Institute of Pharmacology & Toxicology, the Military Academy of Medical Sciences, China in 1995. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in 1998 and then at University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2000. In 2005 Dr. Zhang joined the Departments of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry and Physiology & Pharmacology as a faculty at West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA. He has been a tenured Associate Professor there since 2012. Dr. Zhang is also a "Taishan Scholars" Overseas Distinguished Expert and Professor of Pharmacology at Taishan Medical University (adjunct), China.

Dr. Zhang's major research interests focus on intracellular signaling in the mediation of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. More specifically, he is interested in exploring the roles of phosphodiesterase (PDE)-mediated cyclic nucleotide (cAMP, cGMP) signaling in depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence, drug abuse, and cognition deficits associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease. Development of novel drugs for treating these disorders is also one of his research foci.

Dr. Zhang has published nearly 80 research papers and review articles and 18 book chapters, most of which focusing on PDEs, in particular the PDE4 enzyme family. He has been awarded the NARSAD Young Investigator Award twice (2006 and 2008). Dr. Zhang has been served as the Guest Chief Editor of Current Pharmaceutical Design and currently serves as the Deputy Chief Editor/Associate Editor for Metabolic Brain Disease, Frontiers in Pharmacology, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Translational Neuroscience Review, Austin Psychiatry, and Editorial Board member for Scientific Reports and several other international journals.
Dr. Ying Xu received her Ph.D. degree from Peking University in 2006. She has been a Research Assistant Professor in School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo since 2013. Dr. Xu has long been working in drug discovery focusing on treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. Her research includes the effects and molecular mechanism of natural polyphenols and target synthetic drugs on neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, such as age-related cognitive disorders, depression, anxiety, and neuropathic pain. Her recent work has focused on development of small molecule drugs, particularly phosphodiesterase-2 and 9 inhibitors, on central nervous system disorders. Dr. Xu was the winner of 2015 New Investigator Award (NIA) in the American Association of College of Pharmacy. She is serving for seven peer-reviewed journals as an editorial board member and serving as the Deputy Chief Editor or AssociateEditor for Metabolic Bain Disease and Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Dr. Xu published more than 60 peer-reviewed research papers, reviews and book chapters.

Dr. James M. O'Donnell received his B.S. in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and Ph.D. in Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences from the University of Chicago; he completed postdoctoral training in Neuropsychopharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania. He was appointed the eleventh Dean of the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2013, where he also holds academic appointments as Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology (adjunct). Previously, he held research or faculty positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Louisiana State University, University of Tennessee, and West Virginia University, where he served as Associate Dean for Research in the School of Medicine and Assistant VicePresident for Health Sciences Research.

Dr. O'Donnell's research has focused on the relationship between the neurochemical and behavioral effects of drugs, primarily those used to treat neuropsychiatric illnesses. This work has been supported by the NIH, primarily the National Institute of Mental Health, and has involved collaborations with scientists at other universities and biotech and pharmaceutical companies. He has been active in teaching professional and graduate students in the areas of pharmacology and neuroscience and served as Director of an NIGMS-supported, T32 predoctoral training grant at the interface of behavioral and biomedical sciences.

He has served on NIH review panels in the neuroscience and drug discovery areas, including as founding Chair of the Pathophysiological Basis of Mental Disorders and Addictions study section, and is Associate Editor for the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. He is a member of a number of scientific andprofessional societies, was elected Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and co-chaired the Gordon Research Conference on Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases.