Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dr. Yue-Qiao (George) Huang received his B.Sc. degree from Wuhan University in China and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. He then did his postdoctoral training with Dr. Michael W. Salter at the Program in Brain and Behavior (Currently Neurosciences and Mental Health) in The Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Physiology, University of Toronto in Canada. He was a faculty member at the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.
Dr. Huang has rich experiences in teaching at various levels in inter-cultural settings. Dr. Huang found his passion in teaching when he was a graduate assistant in China. Later during his Ph.D. training years at Iowa State University, he enjoyed teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology Labs to non-majors for a few years. After moving to the University of Toronto, Canada, he was blessed by the opportunity for one-on-one teaching/tutoring. While on the faculty of Drexel University College of Medicine, he has taught in various subjects such as Neurosciences, Biochemistry and Cell Biology.
Dr. Huang has a strong research interest in brain physiology and pathophysiology. Currently his main focus is on the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, and especially on the regulation of the NMDA subtype of the glutamate receptors. "NMDA receptors", as they are called, play critical roles in learning and memory, and in the development of the brain. As NMDA receptors are also critically important in brain disorders, his studies have significant implications that extend to a broad range of pathological processes in the central nervous system, including brain and spinal cord injury, epilepsy, chronic pain, stroke, Alzheimer disease, and schizophrenia. Here at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, his research projects continue to address the issue of glutamate receptor regulation, and he prides on taking an integrated approach using a combination of biochemistry, cell biology, physiology and pharmacology.
