Yuling Yang, Yi Yan, Hao Wang, Qin Wang, Yang Cai, Xiao Yu, Jinhong Xu, Yao Zhao, Lixin Cai, Xin Wang*, Zhicheng Shao*, Jing Ding*. Human brain organoids reveal MGE interneuron defects independent of mTOR-hyperactivation in genetic focal epilepsy. Nature Communications, 2026, Accepted

Hui-Juan Li^#, Xiao Yu^#, Xi Liu^#, Xihua Chen, Jinhong Xu, Jinlong Chen, Tianlin Cheng, Sangmi Chung*, Yousheng Shu*, Zhicheng Shao*. Convergence of schizophrenia risk genes on CALN1 disrupts human forebrain development and drives core psychotic behaviors including hallucination-like perception. BMC Medicine, 2026.

Yuling Yang, Yi Yan, Yang Cai, Xin Wang, Zhicheng Shao* and Jing Ding*. Modeling Precise Responses to Anti-Seizure Medication Using Brain Organoids Carrying SCN2A-GoF and -LoF Mutations. Clinical and Translational Medicine, 2026, 16:e70666.

Linlin Liu^#, Weiwei Xue^# Yufei Kong, Huijuan Li, Qi Fan, Jingyi Shi, Huihui Liu, Jinhong Xu, Yujie Xiao, Hongli Wang, Bo Li, Shengxi Wu* and Zhicheng Shao*. Transplantation of engineered spinal cord organoids restores functions after spinal cord injury. Brain, 2025, awaf471

Xiao Yu#, Jiacheng Du#, Chenger Zhou#, Yongheng Huang, Huijuan Li, Bruce M. Cohen, Sangmi Chung, Zhicheng Shao*. Dysregulation of the BRD2-FGF17 Signal Pathway Induces Abnormal Forebrain Development Associated with Schizophrenia. Neuroscience bulletin, 2025.

Jingyi Shi#, Mei Wu#, Shi Fang, Zhuo Liu, Huihui Liu, Ying Zhao, Linlin Liu*,Zhicheng Shao*. Saponins Enhance the Stability and Cost-Efficiency of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Culture. Cell Regeneration, 2025, Accepted, In press

Jinhong Xu#, Yufei Kong#, Nawen Wang, Huijuan Li, Yunteng Li, Zhuo Liu, Yuling Yang, Xiao Yu, Huihui Liu, Jing Ding, Yi Wang*, Rui Zhao*, Zhicheng Shao*. Personalized Human Astrocyte-Derived Region-Specific Forebrain Organoids Recapitulate Endogenous Pathological Features of Focal Cortical Dysplasia. Advanced Science, 2024, 2409774

Weiwei Xue*, Jiacheng Du, Yunteng Li and Zhicheng Shao*. Protocol for cryopreserving neural organoids and human living brain tissue using MEDY. STAR Protocols, 2024, 5(4):103466

Weiwei Xue*, Huijuan Li, Jinhong Xu, Xiao Yu, Linlin Liu, Huihui Liu, Rui Zhao,  and Zhicheng Shao* (2024). Effective cryopreservation of human brain tissue and neural organoids, Cell Reports Methods, 4, 100777,

Qi Fan#, Hanze Wang#, Tianyi Gu, Huihui Liu, Peng Deng, Bo Li, Hui Yang*, Ying Mao*, and Zhicheng Shao* (2024). Modeling the precise interaction of glioblastoma with human brain region-specific organoids, iScience 27, 109111

HuiJuan Li#, Xiao Yu#, Xi Liu#, Jinhong Xu, Jinlong Chen, Tianlin Cheng, Sangmi Chung*, Yousheng Shu*and Zhicheng Shao*(2024). Calneuron 1 reveals the pivotal roles in schizophrenia via perturbing human forebrain development and causing hallucination-like behavior in mice, bioRxiv

Weiwei Xue#*, Bo Li#, Huihui Liu#, Yujie Xiao, Bo Li, Lei Ren, Huijuan Li, Zhicheng Shao*. Generation of Dorsoventral Human Spinal Cord Organoids via Functionalizing Composite Scaffold for Drug Testing. iScience, 2023, 26, 105898

Xu J.#; Fang S; Wang N.; Li B; Huang Y.; Fan Q; Shi J.; Liu H.; Shao Z.*, Dual‑specifcity Tyrosine Phosphorylation‑regulated Kinase Inhibitor ID‑8 Promotes Human Somatic Cell Reprogramming by Activating PDK4 Expression. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports (2022) 18:2074–2087

Xu J.#; Fang S#; Deng S.; Li H.; Lin X.; Huang Y.; Chung S.; Shu Y.; Shao Z.*, Generation of neural organoids for spinal-cord regeneration via the direct reprogramming of human astrocytes. Nature Biomedical Engineering 2022, doi.org/10.1038/s41551-022-00963-6 (online)

Shao Z, Cevallos RR, and Hu K，Reprogramming Human Fibroblasts to Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Using the GFP-Marked Lentiviral Vectors in the Chemically Defined Medium. (from Book,Kejin Hu (ed.), Nuclear Reprogramming: Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2239, Chapter 7，© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021)

Park G.; Noh H.; Shao Z.; Ni P.; QinY.; Liu D.; Beaudreault C.; Park J.; Abani C.; ParkJ.; Le D.; Gonzalez S.; Guan Y.; Cohen B.; McPhie D.; Coyle J.; Lanz T.; Xi H.; Yin C.; Huang W.; Kim H.; Chung S., Activated microglia cause metabolic disruptions in developmental cortical interneurons that persist in interneurons from individuals with schizophrenia. Nature neuroscience 2020, 23, 1352-1364.

Zhao, J#.;  Ye, Z#.;  Yang, J#.;  Zhang, Q.;  Shan, W.;  Wang, X.;  Wang, Z.;  Ye, S.;  Zhou, X.;  Shao, Z*.; Ren, L*., Nanocage encapsulation improves antiepileptic efficiency of phenytoin. Biomaterials 2020, 240, 119849.

Zeng, F#.;  Ma, X#.;  Zhu, L.;  Xu, Q.;  Zeng, Y.;  Gao, Y.;  Li, G.;  Guo, T.;  Zhang, H.;  Tang, X.;  Wang, Z.;  Ye, Z.;  Zheng, L.;  Zhang, H.;  Zheng, Q.;  Li, K.;  Lu, J.;  Qi, X.;  Luo, H.;  Zhang, X.;  Wang, Z.;  Zhou, Y.;  Yao, Y.;  Ke, R.;  Zhou, Y.;  Liu, Y.;  Sun, H.;  Huang, T.;  Shao, Z.;  Xu, H.; Wang, X*., The deubiquitinase USP6 affects memory and synaptic plasticity through modulating NMDA receptor stability. PLoS Biol 2019, 17 (12), e3000525.

Ni, P.;  Noh, H.;  Shao, Z.;  Zhu, Q.;  Guan, Y.;  Park, J. J.;  Arif, F.;  Park, J. M.;  Abani, C.;  Beaudreault, C.;  Park, J. S.;  Berry, E.;  Moghadam, A.;  Stanton, P.;  Hutchinson, J. N.;  Andrews, B.;  Faux, C.;  Parnevelas, J.;  Eisenberg, L. M.;  Park, K.;  Bolshakov, V. Y.; Chung, S*., Large-Scale Generation and Characterization of Homogeneous Populations of Migratory Cortical Interneurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2019, 13, 414-430.

Shao, Z#.;  Noh, H#.;  Bin Kim, W.;  Ni, P.;  Nguyen, C.;  Cote, S. E.;  Noyes, E.;  Zhao, J.;  Parsons, T.;  Park, J. M.;  Zheng, K.;  Park, J. J.;  Coyle, J. T.;  Weinberger, D. R.;  Straub, R. E.;  Berman, K. F.;  Apud, J.;  Ongur, D.;  Cohen, B. M.;  McPhie, D. L.;  Rapoport, J. L.;  Perlis, R. H.;  Lanz, T. A.;  Xi, H. S.;  Yin, C.;  Huang, W.;  Hirayama, T.;  Fukuda, E.;  Yagi, T.;  Ghosh, S.;  Eggan, K. C.;  Kim, H. Y.;  Eisenberg, L. M.;  Moghadam, A. A.;  Stanton, P. K.;  Cho, J. H*.; Chung, S*., Dysregulated protocadherin-pathway activity as an intrinsic defect in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cortical interneurons from subjects with schizophrenia. Nat Neurosci 2019, 22 (2), 229-242.

Shao, Z.;  Luo, Q.;  Liu, D.;  Mi, Y.;  Zhang, P.; Ju, G*., Induced differentiation of neural stem cells of astrocytic origin to motor neurons in the rat. Stem Cells Dev 2011, 20 (7), 1163-70.

Shao, Z#.;  Yao, C#.;  Khodadadi-Jamayran, A#.;  Xu, W.;  Townes, T. M.;  Crowley, M. R.; Hu, K*., Reprogramming by De-bookmarking the Somatic Transcriptional Program through Targeting of BET Bromodomains. Cell Rep 2016, 16 (12), 3138-3145.

Shao, Z.;  Zhang, R.;  Khodadadi-Jamayran, A.;  Chen, B.;  Crowley, M. R.;  Festok, M. A.;  Crossman, D. K.;  Townes, T. M.; Hu, K*., The acetyllysine reader BRD3R promotes human nuclear reprogramming and regulates mitosis. Nat Commun 2016, 7, 10869.

Noh, H#.;  Shao, Z#.;  Coyle, J. T.; Chung, S*., Modeling schizophrenia pathogenesis using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 2017, 1863 (9), 2382-2387.

Leng, L#.;  Zhuang, K#.;  Liu, Z.;  Huang, C.;  Gao, Y.;  Chen, G.;  Lin, H.;  Hu, Y.;  Wu, D.;  Shi, M.;  Xie, W.;  Sun, H.;  Shao, Z.;  Li, H.;  Zhang, K.;  Mo, W.;  Huang, T. Y.;  Xue, M.;  Yuan, Z.;  Zhang, X.;  Bu, G.;  Xu, H.;  Xu, Q*.; Zhang, J*., Menin Deficiency Leads to Depressive-like Behaviors in Mice by Modulating Astrocyte-Mediated Neuroinflammation. Neuron 2018, 100 (3), 551-563 e7.

Ni, P#.;  Noh, H#.;  Park, G. H.;  Shao, Z.;  Guan, Y.;  Park, J. M.;  Yu, S.;  Park, J. S.;  Coyle, J. T.;  Weinberger, D. R.;  Straub, R. E.;  Cohen, B. M.;  McPhie, D. L.;  Yin, C.;  Huang, W.;  Kim, H. Y.; Chung, S*., iPSC-derived homogeneous populations of developing schizophrenia cortical interneurons have compromised mitochondrial function. Mol Psychiatry 2019.