Researcher Profile: Dr Ying Zhang
Dr. Ying Zhang, Professor in the Department of Medical Neuroscience, has been with the Brain Repair Centre (BRC) since first joining the department more than 10 years ago.
In 2019, Dr. Zhang was awarded a BRC Knowledge Translation (KT) grant for A Novel Treatment for ALS, six years after receiving her first BRC KT grant. “This grant has been very helpful and a major sponsor for our research on novel ideas,” she says. It has also partially funded the work of recent graduate, Uduak MacKenzie. “The BRC is central to our work, they are so good at bringing everybody together. It is really the foundation, and a key advantage, for me and our lab.”
The main focus of Dr. Zhang’s work is an interest in the development, function and organization of neuronal circuits in the spinal cord that control movement. Dr. Zhang seeks to understand spinal interneurons and how they play a variety of roles in pathological illness, particularly ALS. The lab is also working to uncover the specific functional roles of spinal interneurons in spinal cord injury. For instance, whether they undergo changes during exercise and degenerative conditions. Dr. Zhang is hopeful that this research will also have broader implications for other pathological conditions.
While the research is still preliminary, the goal is to be able to diagnose early symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases, like ALS, by identifying biomarkers that predict early onset conditions. Dr. Zhang is also interested in how some neurons are resistant under particular conditions, and some more vulnerable. We still don’t know a lot about the spinal cord, so many conditions are buried within detailed mechanisms that haven’t yet been understood. “By understanding the spinal interneurons, we can identify the more vulnerable and resistant populations and, ultimately, find the mechanisms and conditions that will help to prevent the disease progression,” says Dr. Zhang. “The more we understand the right conditions in these nervous systems, the better we can help direct future therapeutic strategies.”
Dr. Zhang credits her trainees with the wonderful work being conducted in the lab. “My success is due to the trainees and all of our lab members,” she says. For example, recent graduates, Han Zhang and Dylan Deska-Gaulthier, have done some very exciting work, laying a solid foundation for future research. Together, they have published multiple high-impact papers, including Spinal V3 Interneurons and Left-Right Coordination in Mammalian Locomotion and The Temporal Neurogenesis Patterning of Spinal p3-V3 Interneurons into Divergent Subpopulation Assemblies.
“In the 11 years since I have been here, the initial projects have developed in new and unexpected ways,” says Dr. Zhang. “We are developing new ideas and new genetic tools. New trainees will help us pick up these projects and develop them to get better and even more exciting results.”
The BRC has been a huge help to Dr. Zhang in making connections with key collaborators. “I really want people to see the wonderful work of the BRC. If we can make it even stronger and bigger, it would be so helpful and impactful to all researchers in the community. I truly appreciate Dr. Rafuse, Diana and Eleanor. They have worked very hard to maintain and organize the whole institute. It’s not easy! They are doing so much, and we appreciate it,” she says.
You can also read about some of Dr Zhang’s current and past trainees - Colin MacKay and Dylan Deska-Gauthier - at Our Trainees page.