McCullough Lab
Louise McCullough, MD, PhD, FAHA – Chair & Professor
Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Distinguished Chair
Founder, BRAINS Research Laboratory
Co-Director, UTHealth Neurosciences
Dr. McCullough’s laboratory focuses on the investigation of sex and age differences in inflammatory signaling in both the brain and peripheral tissues after stroke. A major area of recent work investigates the mechanisms by which social isolation increases mortality and impairs recovery after stroke, an effect also seen in humans. Social isolation alters the immune response to stroke during chronic recovery. Her lab is currently attempting to reduce age-related inflammation both in the brain and periphery to reduce brain injury using bone marrow replacement and manipulation of the microbiome.
Yu-Ju Chen, PhD – Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Education & Training
BS Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University – Taiwan
MS Biomedical Sciences, Division of Physiology and Pharmacology, Chang Gung University – Taiwan
PhD Biomedical Sciences, Division of Physiology and Pharmacology, Chang Gung University – Taiwan
Areas of Interests
Research Interest: Microbiome influence on development, generational effects of dysbiosis, stroke, gene therapy and lipid nanoparticle delivery
Research & Experience
-The role of hippocampal gene correlated with neurogenesis in cognition, emotion, aging, and neuroplasticity (2015-2021) under the supervision of Dr. Guo-Jen Huang – Chang Gung University, Taiwan
-Discovery of gene candidates to alleviate anxiety and depressive-like phenotype in chronic stress treated female mice (2020-2021) under the supervision of Dr. Guo-Jen Huang – Chang Gung University, Taiwan
-Delivery of lipid nanoparticle CRISPR/Cas9 complex into the mouse brain to cure fragile X syndrome (2022-2024) under the supervision of Dr. Hye Young Lee – The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio
Hobbies & Interests
Dancing, rabbits, and swimming
Danye Jiang, PhD – Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Education & Training
BS Molecular and Cellular Biology, Johns Hopkins University – Baltimore, MD
PhD Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine – Houston, TX
Areas of Interests
Research Interest: Microglia, glia biology, cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), stroke, and social isolation
Research & Experience
My current research interests are to understand 1) how polarization of microglia, the CNS resident immune cells, affects disease development and 2) how manipulation of their responses may delay disease progression and promote brain tissue repair. My early career contributions were focused on investigating the effect of early developmental exposure to general anesthetics on brain development under the guidance of Dr. David Mintz and Dr. Guo-li Ming. My graduate training continued to focus on neural development using a model of murine retina under the mentorship of Dr. Melanie Samuel. Specifically, I identified the complement protein C1q as a regulator of neurite confinement in horizontal cells as well as the signal regulatory protein SIRPα in instructing developmental microglial activation and phagocytosis, and ultimately synapse refinement during retinal development.
Hobbies & Interests
Rock climbing, classical concerts, and antiquing
Romeesa Khan – GSBS Graduate Student Research Assistant
Education & Training
BS Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences, University of Houston – Houston, TX
Areas of Interest
Research interests: Neuroimmunology, vascular dementia, chronic stroke, neonatal injury/TBI, vascular immunology
Clinical interests: Neurosurgery, vascular neurology, pediatrics, trauma surgery
Research & Experience
-Research Assistant, Department of Neurology – UT Health – Houston, TX (2022-2023)
-BRAINS Summer Research Program, Department of Neurology – UT Health – Houston, TX (2021)
-Research Technician – Department of Symptom Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center – Houston, TX (2019)
Research Assistants
Kristen Rebeles
Education & Training
BS Biomedical Science, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, TX (2020)
Bryce West
Education & Training
BA Neuroscience with minor in Chemistry, Dartmouth College – Hanover, NH (2021)
MS Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry – Rochester, NY (2022)
Lillianne Liu
Education & Training
BA Neuroscience and Behavior and Psychology, Wesleyan University – Middletown, CT (2020-2024)