Hanting Yang-INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL BRAIN RESEARCH

Hanting Yang

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Hanting Yang Principal Investigator

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Neuronal Protein and Energy Homeostasis

Dr Hanting Yang is a Principal Investigator at the Institute for Translational Brain Research and a jointly appointed Professor at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University. She obtained her Ph.D. from the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017. She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC-LMB), University of Cambridge, under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Sir Venki Ramakrishnan. Since 2019, she has also been affiliated with Darwin College, University of Cambridge, as a Research Associate. In November 2021, she joined the State Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Diseases at Fudan University. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying protein homeostasis and energy homeostasis associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Yang has been awarded Shanghai high-level talent program and has received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Shanghai Municipal Government, Fudan University, and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). She has delivered invited presentations at prestigious academic conferences, including the Gordon Research Conferences (GRC) and conferences hosted by the Organelle Biology Branch of the Chinese Society for Cell Biology.

Her research findings have been published as first and corresponding authors (including co-authorships) in top-tier journals, including Nature, Science, Nature Communications, Science Advances, and Protein & Cell.

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The maintenance of neuronal energy homeostasis relies on precise temporal and spatial regulation of intracellular biomolecules. Protein synthesis, folding and quality control, together with transmembrane transport of ions and metabolites, collectively sustain intracellular microenvironment stability. As terminally differentiated cells highly dependent on energy supply, neurons are particularly vulnerable to disruptions in protein homeostasis and transmembrane transport systems. Progressive energy metabolism dysfunction is a hallmark of the pathogenesis of diverse neurodegenerative disorders. Our group focuses on the intracellular mechanisms driving neuronal energy imbalance and elucidates how molecular regulation governs neuronal physiological and pathological states.

Our research centers on two core modules: protein quality control and transmembrane transport regulation. Accurate protein synthesis and subcellular targeting determine cellular functionality, while transmembrane ion and metabolite fluxes reshape intracellular metabolic microenvironments. These two systems synergistically maintain neuronal energy homeostasis. Disruption of this coordination triggers metabolic defects and subsequent neuronal dysfunction and degeneration. Following this paradigm, our group aims to establish a continuous mechanistic cascade covering abnormal protein aggregation, transmembrane flux remodeling and energy homeostasis collapse. We systematically investigate the molecular transitions of neurons from physiological homeostasis to pathological damage and decipher both universal and disease-specific mechanisms of metabolic dysregulation across neurodegenerative disorders.

Integrating multidisciplinary approaches encompassing molecular biology, cell biology, structural biology and metabolomics, our group explores the fundamental functions and regulatory mechanisms of biomacromolecules in neuronal homeostasis, biosynthesis and substance transport. By capturing high-resolution dynamic molecular profiles under physiological and pathological conditions, we uncover the core regulatory principles of neuronal homeostasis, providing critical theoretical insights for mechanistic exploration, therapeutic target discovery and intervention strategy development against neurodegenerative diseases.

Current Research Focus

How toxic protein aggregation disrupts neuronal energy homeostasis
How transmembrane metabolic flux is systematically remodeled during disease progression
Whether precise modulation of energy homeostasis can prevent or reverse neurodegenerative damage