Qingchun Tong
Dr. Tong is currently Associate Professor and Cullen Chair in Molecular Medicine of IMM of McGovern Medical School of UTHealth. He obtained his PhD in Neural and Behavioral Sciences from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in 2003 and his postdoc training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School during 2003-2009, where he used extensive mouse genetics to study hypothalamic neurocircuits and feeding behaviors related to obesity and diabetes. In 2009, he was recruited to IMM of UTHealth and has remained as a faculty member ever since. Representative recent publications: 1. Cassidy RM, Lu Y, Jere M, Tian JB, Xu Y, Mangieri LR, Felix-Okoroji B, Selever J, Xu Y, Arenkiel BR, Tong Q. A lateral hypothalamus to basal forebrain neurocircuit promotes feeding by suppressing responses to anxiogenic environmental cues. Sci Adv. 2019 Mar 6;5(3):eaav1640. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aav1640. eCollection 2019 Mar. PMID: 30854429.
2. Mangieri LR, Jiang Z, Lu Y, Xu Y, Cassidy RM, Justice NJ, Xu Y, Arenkiel BR and Tong Q. Defensive Behaviors Driven by a Hypothalamic-Ventral Midbrain Circuit. eNeuro, 2019 6(4). pii: ENEURO.0156-19.2019. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0156-19.2019. PMID: 31331938.
3. Xu Y, Lu Y, Cassidy RM, Mangieri, LR, Zhu Y, Huang X, Jiang Z, Justice NJ, Xu Y, Arenkiel BR and Tong Q. Identification of a Neurociruit Underlying Regulation of Feeding by Stress-related Emotional Responses. Nat Commun. 2019 Aug 1;10(1):3446. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11399-z. PMID: 31371721.
4. Patel JM, Swanson J, Ung K, Herman A, Hanson E, Ortiz-Guzman J, Selever J, Tong Q, Arenkiel BR. Sensory perception drives food avoidance through excitatory basal forebrain circuits. Elife. 2019 May 10;8. pii: e44548. doi: 10.7554/eLife.44548. PMID: 31074744.
5. Mangieri LR, Lu Y, Xu Y, Cassidy RM, Xu Y, Arenkiel BR and Tong Q. Antagonistic Control of Feeding and Self-grooming Behaviors by GABAergic and Glutamatergic LH→PVH Projections. Nat Commun. 2018 Jan 4;9(1):52. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02534-9. PMID: 29302029.