Dr Lan Zhu

Dr Lan Zhu is a Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience at De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester, UK. She earned her Bachelor of Medicine from Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, China, where she also taught Physiology for two years. She pursued her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Turin, Italy. Following her doctorate, she undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Turin, University of Leicester, and King's College London. She has extensively explored synaptic plasticity related to learning and memory, as well as the role of ion channels - particularly potassium channels - in peripheral neuropathic pain.

Since joining DMU in 2015, Dr Zhu has focused on investigating how cerebellar dysfunction contributes to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, with a particular interest in the dysregulation of voltage-gated potassium channels and their impact on neuronal activity.

She employs a range of techniques, including animal behaviour analysis, electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry, fluorescence and confocal microscopy, western blotting, and RT-qPCR.

Dr Zhu actively collaborates with neuroscientists from DMU, the University of Leicester, and industry partners to advance translational research in neuroscience.

• DMU Pharmacology and Neuroscience Research Group 

• Altered potassium channel distribution and composition in myelinated axons suppresses hyperexcitability following injury
  

  Calvo M, Richards N, Zhu L*, Schmid AB*, Barroso A*, Ivulic D, Zhu N, Anwandter P, Bhat MA, Court FA, McMahon SB, Bennett DL. Altered potassium channel distribution and composition in myelinated axons suppresses hyperexcitability following injury. Elife. 2016 Apr 19; 5: e12661. (Impact factor: 8.7; H-index: 161)

• A microchannel neuroprosthesis for bladder control after spinal cord injury in rats
  

  Zhu L*, Chew DJ*, Delivopolous E, Minev I, Musick K, Fitzgerald J, Lacour S, Tarte E, Craggs M, Mosse C, Donaldson N, McMahon SB, Fawcett JW. A microchannel neuroprosthesis for bladder control after spinal cord injury in rat. Sci Transl Med. 2013 Nov 6;5(210):210ra155. (Impact factor: 19.3; H-index: 242; reported on BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24834374)

• Kv2 dysfunction after peripheral axotomy enhances sensory neuron responsiveness to sustained input.
  

  Zhu L*, Tsantoulas C*, Yip P, Grist J, Michael G and McMahon S. Kv2 dysfunction after peripheral axotomy enhances sensory neuron responsiveness to sustained input. Exp Neurol. 2014 Jan; 251:115-26. (Impact factor: 5.6; H-index: 195)

• Sensory Neuron Downregulation of the Kv9.1 Potassium Channel Subunit Mediates Neuropathic Pain following Nerve Injury
  

  Tsantoulas C, Zhu L, Shaifta Y, Grist J, Ward J, Raouf R, Michael G and McMahon S. Sensory neuron down-regulation of the Kv9.1 potassium channel subunit mediates neuropathic pain following nerve injury. J Neurosci. 2012 Nov 28;32(48):17502-17513. (Impact factor: 6.7; H-index: 471)

• Basolateral amygdala inactivation impairs learning-induced long-term potentiation in the cerebellar cortex.
  

  Zhu L, Sacco T, Strata P and Sacchetti B. Basolateral amygdala inactivation impairs learning-induced long-term potentiation in the cerebellar cortex. PLoS One. 2011 Jan 31;6(1):e16673. (Impact factor: 3.8; H-index: 367)

• The effects of fear conditioning on cerebellar LTP and LTD
  

  Zhu L, Scelfo B, Hartell NA, Strata P, Sacchetti B. The effects of fear conditioning on cerebellar LTP and LTD. Eur J Neurosci 2007 Jul; 26:219-227. (Impact factor: 3.7; H-index: 213)

• Membrane excitability and fear conditioning in cerebellar Purkinje cell
  

  Zhu L, Scelfo B, Tempia F, Sacchetti B, Strata P. Membrane excitability and fear conditioning in cerebellar Purkinje cell. Neuroscience 2006 Jul 7; 140:801-810. (Impact factor: 3.7; H-index: 229)

• Metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated currents at the climbing fiber to Purkinje cell synapse
  

  Andjus PR, Bajic A, Zhu L, Strata P. Metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated currents at the climbing fiber to Purkinje cell synapses. J Chem Inf Model 2005 Nov-Dec; 45:1536-1538. (Impact factor: 5.9; H-index: 169)

• Short-term facilitation and depression in the cerebellum: some observations on wild-type and mutant rodents deficient in the extracellular matrix molecule tenascin C
  

  Andjus PR, Bajic A, Zhu L, Schachner M, Strata P. Short-term facilitation and depression in the cerebellum: some observations on wild-type and mutant rodents deficient in the extracellular matrix molecule tenascin C. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2005 Jun; 1048:185-197. (Impact factor: 6.5; H-index: 261)

• A change in the pattern of activity affects the developmental regression of the Purkinje cell polyinnervation by climbing fibers in the rat cerebellum
  

  Andjus PR, Zhu L, Cesa R, Carulli D, Strata P. A change in the pattern of activity affects the developmental regression of the Purkinje cell polyinnervation by climbing fibers in the rat cerebellum. Neuroscience 2003; 121:563-572. (Impact factor: 3.7; H-index: 229)

Click here to view a full listing of Dr Lan Zhu's publications and outputs.

• Physiology of potassium channels particularly voltage-gated potassium channels in the cerebellar functions
• Voltage-gated potassium channel mechanisms in the cerebellar dysfunction and general pathophysiology of schizophrenia
• NMDA receptors mechanisms in the cerebellar dysfunction in schizophrenia
• Cerebellar mechanisms in schizophrenia
• Ion channel particularly voltage-gated potassium channel mechanisms in neuropathic pain
• Translational bioengineering e.g. bladder functional recovery after spinal cord injury
• Neuronal mechanisms including neuronal excitability, synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity of learning and memory
• Pharmacology of glutamatergic receptors, e.g. AMPAR, NMDAR, mGluR and their involvement in synaptic plasticity underlying learning and memory

• Anatomy and physiology of Nervous System
• Brain and Nervous System disorders
• Cellular pathology
• Neuropathology
• Undergraduate and postgraduate project supervision

• Bachelor of Medicine
• PhD in Neuroscience
• PGCert in Higher Education

External:

• International Full Bursary PhD scholarship, awarded by University of Turin, Italy; funded by Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR); Ministry of Health; Fondazione CRT; October 2001 – October 2005
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, selected by Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Italy; funded by European Union; Regione Piemonte and Compagnia San Paolo Foundation; November 2005 – April 2007
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, selected by Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Leicester; funded by BBSRC; May 2007 – November 2010
• Best Poster Prize, titled “Quantitative visualisation of transmitter release at hippocampal synapses”, awarded by University of Leicester, Neuroscience Day 2009
• Wellcome Trust Value in People Research Associate Grant, shortlisted and interviewed on 16/8/2010
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, selected by Pain and Neuroregeneration group, Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases (CARD), King’s College London, funded by EPSRC; January 2011 – July 2013
• Aurora 2023, awarded by Advance HE's Aurora leadership development programme, 24th January – 18th July 2023

Internal:

• Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award nominations in 2021 and 2022

• British Neuroscience Association (BNA)
• Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS)
• International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO)
• Fellow of Higher Education Academy

• Certificate of Home Office Procedure Individual Licence
• Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education
• Certificate in Research Supervision

• Investigating cerebellar mechanisms of schizophrenia by using a pharmacological mouse model: regulation of voltage-gated potassium channels
• Investigating the morphological changes of the cerebellum from a pharmacological animal model of schizophrenia
• Regulation of a glutamate receptor and its implications in the cerebellar dysfunction of a pharmacological animal model of schizophrenia
• Regulation of a calcium binding protein and its implications in the cerebellar dysfunction of a pharmacological animal model of schizophrenia

• Miss Mahfuza Maisha (PhD, 2023 - present, 1^st supervisor)
• Mr Mohammad Abudayeh (PhD, 2021 – 2023, 2^nd supervisor)
• Miss Leah MacGregor (PhD, 2020 – 2025, 1^st supervisor, successful completion)
• Miss Rubab Ralpur (PhD, 2017 – 2023, 2^nd supervisor, successful completion)
• Mr Lukasz Lagojda (PhD, 2016 – 2021, 1^st supervisor, successful completion)

• DMU research start-up fund, £5000, principal investigator, 2015 – 2016
• DMU Investment Fund 2015, £8,800, co-investigator, 2015
• DMU full bursary PhD scholarship, £39K, first supervisor, 2016 - 2019
• DMU PhD bench fee, £15K, first supervisor, 2016 - 2019
• DMU PhD bench fee, £6K, first supervisor, 2020 – 2023
• DMU PhD bench fee, £6K, first supervisor, 2023 - 2026
• Joint internal fund from HLS Faculty and School of Allied Health Sciences; Leica DM2000 fluorescence microscope and workstation, £10K, principal investigator, March 2017
• Ethovision XT animal behaviour track system, £7045, principal investigator, August 2019
• DMU Front runner internship, £8400 (£2100 per place for 6 months), supervisor, October 2019 - present. Currently recruiting for 2024/2025 round
• DMU Internal Sandwich Placement, supervisor, September 2019 - May 2020
• DMU Research allowance budget, £1000, principal investigator, October 2022
• DMU QR funding, £4000, principal investigator, awarded on 2^nd February 2023, for updating software for patch clamp setup
• DMU LIPI institute budget, £499.10, for attending Home Office PPL project licence training course which I completed in January 2024
• DMU IAHR institute budget, £3250, for working on my proposed project in partnership with Autifony Therapeutics Ltd with their in-kind contribution, October 2023 – June 2024

• Peer-Reviewer for UKRI grant application (BBSRC), June 2025
• Peer reviewer for Neuropharmacology (ISSN: 0028-3908)
• Research Sabbatical, awarded by De Montfort University, 7 teaching weeks in November 2024 – January 2025
• Research Leave, awarded by De Montfort University, January 2022 – April 2022
• Invited by University of Leicester to be external examiner for PhD thesis entitled “The role of serotonin in synaptic plasticity: detailed characterisation of the effect of serotonin on long-term potentiation across the hippocampus”; completed in 04/2023
• Invited by University of Leicester to be external examiner for PhD thesis entitled ““The effects of CB1R activation on age-related cognitive decline and presynaptic calcium in the aged hippocampus”; completed in 07/2022
• Invited by University of Leicester to be external examiner for PhD thesis entitled “Molecular mechanisms for activity-dependent control of neuronal excitability in the central auditory pathway”; completed in 01/2022
• Awarded DMU Research Leave, 1/2022 – 4/2022
• Gave advice to researchers in Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare, 2021 - present
• Provided research findings to the BBC News Health, 2013

Schizophrenia is a debilitating neurodevelopmental brain disorder. Affecting 1% of the population worldwide, schizophrenia imposes a tremendous global economic burden associated with health and social care. The current antipsychotics face many challenges, attributed to incomplete understanding of the complex pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The cerebellum is regarded as an integral node in neuronal circuits subserving all brain functional domains. Over the past two decades structural and functional abnormalities of the cerebellum have been linked with schizophrenia; and treatments aimed at the cerebellum, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, have shown promising efficacy.

The following projects will be using a well-established pharmacological mouse module of schizophrenia while employing a wide range of techniques to study the cerebellar mechanisms of this brain disorder:

1. We have recently found some morphological changes in the cerebellum of this animal model. We would like to investigate more systematically in more details the morphological alterations of the cerebellum, from tissue level, cellular level to subcellular level, of this animal model.
2. We have recently found that, voltage-gated potassium channel Kv2.1, a schizophrenia vulnerability risk gene, is significantly downregulated at the gene level and the protein level in the cerebellum of this mouse model. We would like to understand how this dysregulation contributes to the neuronal and cerebellar dysfunction of this mouse model.
3. Another voltage-gated potassium channel Kv3 expresses in a subpupulation of neurons including cerebellar granule cells, enabling them to fire action potential at up to 1000 Hz for the require physiological functions. Kv3.1 dysregulation in the cerebral cortex has been implied to account for the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. We would like to know how various subtypes of Kv3 channels are regulated in the cerebellum of this mouse model, and furthermore, how the potential dysregulation contributes to the neuronal and cerebellar dysfunction of this mouse model.