Hai Zhang
Project Scientist, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
Biography
Hai Zhang, Ph.D., is a Project Scientist in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine. Zhang received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China. His research focuses on neural circuit mechanisms underlying neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, depression, and pain modulation, using techniques such as viral tracing, in vivo structural and functional imaging, and behavioral studies in animal models.
Zhang's work spans multiple areas of neuroscience, from studying hippocampal neurogenesis in multiple sclerosis models to investigating spatial encoding deficits in Alzheimer's disease. His recent research has examined how acupuncture produces analgesic effects through specific brain pathways, identifying a retrosplenial cortex-anterior pretectal nucleus circuit that mediates acupuncture-induced analgesia. He has also investigated how interactions between erythrocytes and brain endothelial cells induce microglial responses and cerebral microhemorrhages, and how spatial mapping deficits in the hippocampus precede memory impairments in Alzheimer's disease mouse models.
Before joining UC Irvine in 2019, Zhang held research positions at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute, where he studied hippocampal newborn neuron circuits in seizure and multiple sclerosis models, and at institutions in China including Tongji Medical College and the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Science, where he worked on drug development for Parkinson's disease and depression. Zhang is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and has received research funding including a Youth Scientists Fund from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D in Pharmacology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), 2007
- M.D., Tongji Medical College, HUST, 2004
Distinctions
- Youth Scientists Fund, National Natural Science Foundation of China, 2015
- Fellowship, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, 2008
- Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute Pilot Studies Awards, UCI, 2021
Areas of Expertise
- Neural Circuit Mechanisms
- Alzheimer's Disease Pathology
- Depression Neural Pathways
- Pain Modulation Systems
- Acupuncture-Induced Analgesia
- Brain Endothelial Cell Targeting
- Microglial Inflammatory Responses
Recent Publications
- Velazquez-Rivera E, Dey O, Kim NS, Cao W, Ye Q, Gao P, Thai A, Nguyen JK, Zhang H, Ting JT, Gopi M, Ren B, Holmes TC, Xu X, “Specific targeting of brain endothelial cells using enhancer AAV vectors” (opens in new tab), Neuron, vol. 113, pp. 1562-1578.e6, 2025.
- Zhang H, Sumbria RK, Chang R, Sun J, Cribbs DH, Holmes TC, Fisher MJ, Xu X, “Erythrocyte-brain endothelial interactions induce microglial responses and cerebral microhemorrhages in vivo” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neuroinflammation, vol. 20, pp. 265, 2023.
- Zhang H, Chen L, Johnston KG, Crapser J, Green KN, Ha NM-L, Tenner AJ, Holmes TC, Nitz DA, Xu X, “Degenerate Mapping of Environmental Location Presages Deficits in Object-Location Encoding and Memory in the 5xFAD Mouse Model for Alzheimer's Disease” (opens in new tab), Neurobiology of Disease, vol. 176, pp. 105939, 2023.
- Lin X, Chen L, Jullienne A, Zhang H, Salehi A, Hamer M, Holmes TC, Obenaus A, Xu X, “Longitudinal dynamics of microvascular recovery after acquired cortical injury” (opens in new tab), Acta Neuropathologica Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 59, 2022.
- Johnston K.G., Grieco S.F., Zhang H., Jin S., Xu X., Nie Q., “Tracking longitudinal population dynamics of single neuronal calcium signal using SCOUT” (opens in new tab), Cell Reports Methods, vol. 2, 2022.
- Zhang H, Kim Y, Ro EJ, Ho C, Lee D, Trapp BD, and Suh H, , “Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Neural Circuit Formation in a Cuprizone-Induced Multiple Sclerosis Mouse Model”, Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 447-458, 2020.
Most Cited Publications
- Li M.-X., Zheng H.-L., Luo Y., He J.-G., Wang W., Han J., Zhang L., Wang X., Ni L., Zhou H.-Y., Hu Z.-L., Wu P.-F., Jin Y., Long L.-H., Zhang H., Hu G., Chen J.-G., Wang F., “Gene deficiency and pharmacological inhibition of caspase-1 confers resilience to chronic social defeat stress via regulating the stability of surface AMPARs” (opens in new tab), Molecular Psychiatry, vol. 23, pp. 556-568, 2018.
- Zhang H, Li K, Chen H-S, Gao S-Q, Xia Z-X, Zhang J-T, Wang F, Chen J-G, “Dorsal raphe projection inhibits the excitatory inputs on lateral habenula and alleviates depressive behaviors in rats” (opens in new tab), Brain Structure and Function, vol. 223, no. 5, pp. 2243-2258, 2018.
- Ming Y., Zhang H., Long L., Wang F., Chen J., Zhen X., “Modulation of Ca2+ signals by phosphatidylinositol-linked novel D1 dopamine receptor in hippocampal neurons” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neurochemistry, vol. 98, pp. 1316-1323, 2006.
- Hou X.-Y., Hu Z.-L., Zhang D.-Z., Lu W., Zhou J., Wu P.-F., Guan X.-L., Han Q.-Q., Deng S.-L., Zhang H., Chen J.-G., Wang F., “Rapid Antidepressant Effect of Hydrogen Sulfide: Evidence for Activation of mTORC1-TrkB-AMPA Receptor Pathways” (opens in new tab), Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, vol. 27, pp. 472-488, 2017.
- Grieco SF, Qiao X, Zheng X, Liu Y, Chen L, Zhang H, Yu Z, Gavornik JP, Lai C, Gandhi SP, Holmes TC, Xu X, “Subanesthetic Ketamine Reactivates Adult Cortical Plasticity to Restore Vision from Amblyopia” (opens in new tab), Current Biology, vol. 30, no. 18, pp. 3591-3603.e8, 2020.
- Zhang H, Ye N, Zhou S, Guo L, Zheng L, Liu Z, Gao B, Zhen X, Zhang A, “Identification of N- propylnoraporphin-11-yl 5-(1, 2-dithiolan-3-yl) pentanoate as a new anti-Parkinson's agent possessing a dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT1A dual-agonist profile” (opens in new tab), Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 54, no. 13, pp. 4324-4338, 2011.
- Zhang J., Zhang H., Cai W., Yu L., Zhen X., Zhang A., “'Click' D1 receptor agonists with a 5-HT1A receptor pharmacophore producing D2 receptor activity” (opens in new tab), Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 17, pp. 4873-4880, 2009.
- Zhang H, Ma L, Wang F, Chen J, Zhen X, “Chronic SKF83959 induced less severe dyskinesia and attenuated L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in 6-OHDA-lesioned rat model of Parkinson's disease” (opens in new tab), Neuropharmacology, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 125-133, 2007.
- Zhang H, Kim Y, Ro EJ, Ho C, Lee D, Trapp BD, Suh H, “Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Neural Circuit Formation in a Cuprizone-Induced Multiple Sclerosis Mouse Model” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 447-458, 2020.
- Mo J., Zhang H., Yu L.-P., Sun P.-H., Jin G.-Z., Zhen X., “L-Stepholidine reduced L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in 6-OHDA-lesioned rat model of Parkinson's disease” (opens in new tab), Neurobiology of Aging, vol. 31, pp. 926-936, 2010.
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Last updated on 4/28/2026.