Biography

Dr. Hui-Chen Lu is the Director and a Linda and Jack Gill Chair in the Gill Institute for Neuroscience at Indiana University Bloomington. She is a Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and an internationally recognized leader in molecular and circuit neuroscience.

Dr. Lu’s research investigates how neural circuits are formed, maintained, and protected throughout life. Her work focuses on the metabolic and molecular mechanisms that sustain long-range brain connectivity, particularly the role of NAD metabolism and the neuroprotective enzyme NMNAT2 in axonal health and neurodegeneration. Her laboratory has uncovered key links between energetic stress, inflammation, and circuit dysfunction, providing new insight into aging and neurodegenerative disease.

She also investigates how the endocannabinoid system guides brain development and how prenatal or adolescent exposure to cannabis alters circuit formation and long-term behavior. Dr. Lu co-leads the NIH-funded IU Center for Cannabis, Cannabinoids, and Addiction (C3A), an interdisciplinary center dedicated to understanding the neural, behavioral, and public health impacts of cannabinoids and advancing evidence-based addiction research.

A highly cited scientist with sustained NIH support, Dr. Lu is committed to collaborative science, inclusive leadership, and training the next generation of neuroscientists.

Publications

  • Zhen-Xian Niou, Sen Yang, Andrea Enriquez, Nino A Espinas, Anoosha Sri, Caliel Hines, Jason M. Tennessen, Chia-Shan Wu, Jui-Yen Huang, Hui-Chen Lu (2025) “NAD+ reduction in glutamatergic neurons induces lipid catabolism and neuroinflammation in the brain via sarm1”, Adv Sci (Weinh). 12:e09950.
  • Jui-Yen Huang, Gautam Chauhan, Pei-Ying Chen, Esen Tuna, Hui-Chen Lu (2025), “Protocol for detecting neuronal subnetworks from in vivo calcium imaging data using multiple clustering algorithms in MATLAB”, STAR Protoc. 13;6(3):104030. 
  • Yu Chen Chang, Sen Yang, Minyoung Cho, Kwangsik Nho, José-Manuel Baizabal, Hui-Chen Lu (2025), "Transcriptional Regulation of human NMNAT2: Insights from 3D Genome Sequencing and Bioinformatics". FEBS J.
  • Jui-Yen Huang, Michael Hess, Abhinav Bajpai, Scott J Barton, Xuan Li, Liam N Hobson, Ashley J Xu, Hui-Chen Lu (2025) “From Initial Formation to Developmental Refinement: GABAergic Inputs Shape Neuronal Subnetworks in the Primary Somatosensory Cortex”. iScience. 28(3):112104. 
  • Kangle Li, Hongwei Cai, Hui-Chen Lu, Ken Mackie, and Feng Guo (2024), “Human Brain Organoids for Understanding Substance Use Disorder”. Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics. 60:101036.
  • Maurício dos Santos Pereira, Gabriel Henrique Dias de Abreu, Leonardo Calaça, Arruda Vanderlei, Rita Raisman-Vozari, Francisco Silveira Guimarães, Hui-Chen Lu, Patrick Pierre Michel and Elaine Del Bel (2024) “4’-fluorocannabidiol associated with capsazepine restrains L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in hemiparkinsonian mice: contribution of anti-inflammatory and anti-glutamatergic mechanisms”. Neuropharmacology. 251:109926. 
  • Sen Yang, Zhen-Xian Niou, Andrea Enriquez, Jacob LaMar, Jui-Yen Huang, Karen Ling, Paymaan Jafar-Nejad, Jonathan Gilley, Michael P. Coleman, Jason M. Tennessen, Vidhya Rangaraju, Hui-Chen Lu (2024). "NMNAT2 supports vesicular glycolysis via NAD homeostasis to fuel fast axonal transport." Mol Neurodegener. 19(1):13. 
  • Sen Yang, Jung Hyun Park, Hui-Chen Lu (2023). "Axonal energy metabolism, and the effects in aging and neurodegenerative diseases." Mol Neurodegeneration. 18(1):49. 
  • Haggerty DL, Grecco GG, Huang JY, Doud EH, Mosley AL, Lu HC, Atwood BK (2023) "Prenatal methadone exposure selectively alters protein expression in primary motor cortex: Implications for synaptic function" Front Pharmacol. 14:1124108.
  • Itami C, Uesaka N, Huang JY, Lu HC, Sakimura K, Kano M, Kimura F.(2022) "Endocannabinoid-dependent formation of columnar axonal projection in the mouse cerebral cortex" National Academy of Sciences. 119(37):e2122700119
  • Gregory G Grecco, Jui Yen Huang, Braulio Muñoz, Emma H Doud, Caliel D Hines, Yong Gao, Brooke Rodriguez, Amber L Mosley, Hui-Chen Lu, Brady K Atwood (2022) "Sex-dependent synaptic remodeling of the somatosensory cortex in mice with prenatal methadone exposure" Adv Drug Alcohol Res. 2:10400. 
  • Ao Z, Cai H, Wu Z, Song S, Karahan H, Kim B, Lu HC, Kim J, Mackie K, Guo F. (2021) "Tubular human brain organoids to model microglia-mediated neuroinflammation" Lab on a Chip. 13;21(14):2751-2762.
  • Grecco GG, Mork BE, Huang JY, Metzger CE, Haggerty DL, Reeves KC, Gao Y, Hoffman H, Katner SN, Masters AR, Morris CW, Newell EA, Engleman EA, Baucum AJ, Kim J, Yamamoto BK, Allen MR, Wu YC, Lu HC, Sheets PL, Atwood BK. (2021)"Prenatal methadone exposure disrupts behavioral development and alters motor neuron intrinsic properties and local circuitry". Elife. 10:e66230.
  • Huang JY, Krebs BB, Miskus ML, Russell ML, Duffy EP, Graf JM, Lu HC. (2020) "Enhanced FGFR3 activity in postmitotic principal neurons during brain development results in cortical dysplasia and axonal tract abnormality" Sci Rep. 10(1):18508.
  • Cai H , Ao Z , Hu L , Moon Y , Wu Z , Lu HC , Kim J , Guo F. (2020) "Acoustofluidic assembly of 3D neurospheroids to model Alzheimer's disease" Analyst. 145(19):6243-6253.
  • Wu CS, Jew CP, Sun H, Ballester Rosado CJ, Lu HC. (2020) "mGlu5 in GABAergic neurons modulates spontaneous and psychostimulant-induced locomotor activity" Psychopharmacology. 237(2):345-361
  • Urs Albrecht, Gregor Eichele, Jill A Helms, Hui-Chen Lu (2019) "Visualization of gene expression patterns by in situ hybridization" Molecular and cellular methods in developmental toxicology. 23-48
  • Salil Sharma, Ines Khadimallah, Adam Williamson Corya, Yousuf Omar Ali, Xi Rao, Yunlong Liu, Hui-Chen Lu (2018) "Presymptomatic change in microRNAs modulates Tau pathology" Scientific reports. 8(1):9251
  • Salil Sharma, Hui-Chen Lu (2018) "microRNAs in neurodegeneration: current findings and potential impacts" Journal of Alzheimer's disease & Parkinsonism. 8(1):420
  • Jui-Yen Huang, Marisha Lynn Miskus, Hui-Chen Lu (2017) "FGF-FGFR mediates the activity-dependent dendritogenesis of layer IV neurons during barrel formation" Journal of neuroscience. 37(50):12094-12105
  • Jui-Yen Huang, Hui-Chen Lu (2018) "mGluR5 tunes NGF/TrkA signaling to orient spiny stellate neuron dendrites toward thalamocortical axons during whisker-barrel map formation." Cerebral Cortex. 28(6):1991-2006
  • Yousuf O Ali, Gillian Bradley, Hui-Chen Lu (2017) "Screening with an NMNAT2-MSD platform identifies small molecules that modulate NMNAT2 levels in cortical neurons." Scientific reports. 7:43846
  • Carlos J Ballester-Rosado, Hao Sun, Jui-Yen Huang, Hui-Chen Lu (2016) "mGluR5 exerts cell-autonomous influences on the functional and anatomical development of layer IV cortical neurons in the mouse primary somatosensory cortex" Journal of Neuroscience. 36(34):8802-14.
  • Baiping Wang, Zilai Wang, Lu Sun, Li Yang, Hongmei li, Allysa Cole, Jennifer Rodriguez-Rivera, Hui-Chen Lu, Hui Zheng (2014) “The Amyloid Precursor Protein Controls Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis through GABAergic Interneurons”, Journal of Neuroscience. 
  • Tabassum Majid, Yousuf O. Ali, Deepa V. Venkitararamani, Ming-Kuei Jang, Hui-Chen Lu, Robia G Pautler (2014) “In vivo axonal transport deficits in a mouse model of fronto-temporal dementia”, Neuroimage: Clinical, 4:711-7.
  • Chia-Shan Wu, Daniel Morgan, Chris P. Jew, Chris Haskins, Mary-Jeanette Andrews, Corinne M. Spencer, Traci Czyzyk, Heather Bradshaw, Ken Mackie, Hui-Chen Lu (2014) “Long-term consequences of perinatal fatty acid amino hydrolase inhibition”, British J. Pharmacology, 171:1420-34.
  • Yousuf O. Ali, David Li-Kroeger, Hugo Bellen, R. Grace Zhai, Hui-Chen Lu (2013) "NMNATs, evolutionary conserved neuronal maintenance factors" Trends in Neuroscience, 36:632-40.
  • YanGang Sun, Juan Pita-Almenar, Chia-Shan Wu, John J Renger, Victor N. Uebele, Hui-Chen Lu, Michael Beierlein (2013) "Biphasic cholinergic synaptic transmission controls action potential activity in thalamic reticular nucleus neurons" Journal of Neuroscience 33: 2048-59.
  • Chia-Shan Wu, Hongmei Chen, Hao Sun, Jie Zhu, Chris P. Jew, Jim Wager-Miller, Alex Straiker, Corinne Spencer, Heather Bradshaw, Ken Mackie, Hui-Chen Lu (2013) "GPR55, a G protein coupled receptor for lysophosphatidylinositol, plays a role in motor coordination" PLoS One. 8:e60314.
  • Chris P. Jew, Chia-Shan Wu, Hao Sun, Jie Zhu, Jui-Yen Huang, Dinghui Yu, Nicholas J. Justice, Hui-Chen Lu (2013) "mGluR5 ablation in cortical glutamatergic neurons increases novelty-induced locomotion" PLoS One, 8:e70415.
  • Kihoon Han,J. Lloyd Holder Jr, Christian P. Schaaf, Hui Lu,  Hongmei Chen, Hyojin Kang, Jianrong Tang, Zhenyu Wu, Shuang Hao, Sau Wai Cheung, Peng Yu, Hao Sun, Amy M. Breman, Ankita Patel, Hui-Chen Lu, Huda Y. Zoghbi (2013) "SHANK3 duplication causes a hyperkinetic neuropsychiatric disorder with unique pharmacogenetic properties" Nature 503:72–7.
  • Cecilia Ljungberg, Yousuf Ali, Jie Zhu, Chia-Shan Wu, Kazuhiro Oka, R.Grace Zhai, Hui-Chen Lu (2012) "CREB-activity and nmnat2 transcription are down-regulated prior to neurodegeneration, while NMNAT2 over-expression is neuroprotective, in a mouse model of human tauopathy" Human Mol. Genetics, 15:251-67.
  • Javier Díaz, Tania Aguado, Chia-Shan Wu, Javier Palazuelos, Beat Lutz, Hui-Chen Lu, Manuel Guzmán, Ismael Galve-Roperh (2012) "CB1 cannabinoid receptor regulation of Pax-6 and Tbr-2 controls pyramidal neurogenesis and cortical layer specification" Journal of Neuroscience 32: 16651-65.
  • Chia-Shan Wu, Christopher P. Jew, Hui-Chen Lu (2011) "Lasting impacts of prenatal cannabis exposure and the role of endogenous cannabinoids in the developing brain" Future Neurology, 6:459-480.
  • Chia-Shan Wu, Carlos J Ballester Rosado, Hui-Chen Lu (2011) "What can we learn from BARRELs? - The rodent barrel cortex as a model to study the establishment of neural circuits" European J. Neuroscience, 34:1663-76.
  • YanGang Sun, Chia-Shan Wu, Hui-Chen Lu, Michael Beierlein (2011) "Target-dependent control of synaptic inhibition by endocannabinoids in the thalamus" Journal of Neuroscience, 31:9222-30.
  • Carlos J Ballester Rosado, Michael J Albright, Chia-Shan Wu, Chun-Chieh Liao, Jie Zhu, Shen-Ju Chou, Dennis D O'Leary, Li-Jen Lee, and Hui-Chen Lu (2010) "mGluR5 in cortical excitatory neurons exerts both cell autonomous and nonautonomous influences on cortical somatosensory circuit formation" Journal of Neuroscience, 30:16896-909.
  • Hsiao-Tuan Chao, Hongmei Chen, Rodney C. Samaco, Mingshan Xue, Maria Chahrour, Jong Yoo, Jeffrey L. Neul, Shiaoching Gong, Hui-Chen Lu, Nathaniel Heintz, Marc Ekker, John L.R. Rubnenstein, Jeffrey L, Noebels, Christian Rosenmund, Huda Y. Zoghbi (2010) "GABAergic dysfunction mediates autism-like stereotypies and numerous features of Rett syndrome" Nature, 468(7321):263-9.
  • Chia-Shan Wu, Jie Zhu, Jim Wager-Miller, Shan Wang, Dennis O'Leary, Krisztina Monory, Beat Lutz, Ken Mackie, and Hui-Chen Lu (2010) "Requirement of cannabinoid CB1 receptor in cortical pyramidal neurons for appropriate development of corticothalamic and thalamocortical projections" European J. Neuroscience, 32:693-706.

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