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Transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illness through research DIVISION OF INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Principal Investigators De-Maw Chuang, Ph.D.   Dr. Chuang is the Chief of the Molecular Neurobiology Section of the Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health at Bethesda, Maryland. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, State University of New York at Stony Brook. He did his postdoctoral training at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology at Nutley, New Jersey. Dr. Chuang’s current research centers on the neurobiology of mood stabilizing drugs, notably lithium, valproic acid and lamotrigine, which are used to treat bipolar mood disorder. His pioneering work demonstrated that treatment with lithium robustly protects cultured CNS neurons from glutamate-induced NMDA-receptor-mediated excitotoxicity, which has been implicated in a variety of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. His recent research provided evidence that lithium and valproic acid, by inhibiting glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) and histone deacetylases (HDACs), respectively, elicited neuroprotective, neurotrophic, anti-inflammatory and mood stabilizing effects. His laboratory also reported the downstream mechanisms mediating these actions. His past and current work showed that lithium and valproic acid have beneficial effects in multiple animal models of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. His research goal is to explore the possibility that mood stabilizers have utility in treating neurodegenerative diseases, in addition to bipolar disorder. Dr. Chuang has received many honors and awards, including the NIH Director’s Award in 1997 in recognition of "his superb leadership and innovative research which advances the understanding of basic mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders". He is the recipient of the 2002 NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award. He was also inducted to the Academia Sinica in Taiwan in 2006. Dr. Chuang is an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, and a member of many scientific societies including the ACNP, FASEB and the Society for Neuroscience. He has published over 220 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals including PNAS, Science, Nature Medicine, J Neuroscience, Mol Psychiatry and J Biol Chem. Research Interests Dr. Chuang is interested in translational research related to the mechanisms and implications of neuronal apoptosis in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. His research focuses on the neurobiology of mood stabilizing drugs, notably lithium and valproic acid. His laboratory is one of the first to demonstrate the neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects of mood stabilizers. He is expanding his previous work to investigate novel targets and actions of these drugs in several animal models of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. His goal is to demonstrate that mood stabilizers have additional uses in treating neurodegenerative/neuropsychiatric disorders Representative Selected Recent Publications: Yasuda S, Liang M-H, Marinova Z, Yahyavi A and Chuang D-M: The mood stabilizers lithium and valproate selectively activate promoter IV of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in neurons. Mol Psychiatry, 14: 51-59, 2009. (View PDF) Leng Y, Liang M-H, Ren M, Marinova Z, Leeds P and Chuang D-M: Synergistic neuroprotective effects of lithium and valproic acid or other HDAC inhibitors in neurons: Roles of GSK-3 inhibition. J Neurosci, 28: 2576-2588, 2008. (View PDF) Liang M-H and Chuang D-M: Regulation and function of glycogen synthase kinase-3 isoforms in neuronal survival. J Biol Chem, 282: 3904-3917, 2007. (View PDF) Liang M-H and Chuang D-M: Differential roles of glycogen synthase kinase-3 isoforms in the regulation of transcriptional activation. J Biol Chem, 281: 30479-30484, 2006. (View PDF) Leng Y and Chuang D-M: Endogenous α-synuclein is induced by valproic acid through histone deacetylase inhibition and participates in neuroprotection against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. J Neurosci, 26: 7502-7512, 2006. (View PDF) Chuang D-M, Hough C and Senatorov VV: Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, apoptosis and neurodegenerative diseases.Ann Rev Pharm Tox, 45: 269-290, 2005. (View PDF) Address: 10 Center Drive, MSC 1363 Bethesda MD 20892-1363 USA Phone: 301-496-9290 Email Dr. Chuang Fax: 301-480-9290 Lab Web Site:       Principal Investigators Scientists & Clinicians DIRP Labs and Branches DIRP Research Areas Staff Scientists/Clinicians Office of the Scientific Director Site Map Participate in Research Contact Us Careers in Research What’s New Functional MRI Core Magnetic Resonance Core Magnetoencephalography Core Microarray Core Non-Human Primate Core Scientific and Statistical Computing Core Transgenic Core Veterinary Medicine Resources (Staff only) Office of the Scientific Director Office of the Clinical Director Office of Fellowship Training Office of Technology Transfer Administrative Services Branch Administrative Services

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The Division of Intramural Research Programs is within the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is a part the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.