Jonah Chan, PhD

Professor
Department of Neurology
+1 415 353-4390
Research Description: 

Dr. Jonah R. Chan received his BS in Biochemistry and PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University with Dr. Eric Shooter. Jonah is currently the Debbie and Andy Rachleff Distinguished Professor of Neurology. He is a member of the Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vice Chief in the Division of Neuroimmunology and Glial Biology and Co-Director of the Innovation Program for Remyelination and Repair at UCSF.

The Chan laboratory has a long-standing interest in fundamental glial/neuronal interactions and the molecular mechanisms that regulate myelination. Myelination is one of the most exquisite examples of cell-cell interaction found in nature and functions to maximize the efficiency and velocity of action potentials transmitted throughout the nervous system. While much has been learned about the global determinants that generate myelin-forming cells during development, the Chan laboratory is particularly interested in understanding how local environmental cues control the spatiotemporal regulation of differentiation and myelination, including both molecular and biophysical interactions. Identification of an environment that is conducive for myelination could have important implications for efforts aimed at promoting repair and remyelination in the nervous system.

Current Laboratory Members:

Trung Huynh, BS
Lab Manager
[email protected]

Sarah Raissi, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
[email protected]

Wendy Xin, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
[email protected]

Monique Lillis, BS
Graduate Student
[email protected]

Albert Zhang, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
[email protected]

Sonia Nocera, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
[email protected]

Lahin Lalani, BS
Graduate Student
[email protected]

Irvin Bhangal, BA
Assistant Specialist
[email protected]

Lena Odell, BA
Assistant Specialist
[email protected]

Eric Garcia, BS
Graduate Student
[email protected]

Primary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Neuronal/Glial Interactions that Control Myelination

Websites

Publications: 

Author Correction: Micropillar arrays as a high-throughput screening platform for therapeutics in multiple sclerosis.

Nature medicine

Mei F, Fancy SPJ, Shen YA, Niu J, Zhao C, Presley B, Miao E, Lee S, Mayoral SR, Redmond SA, Etxeberria A, Xiao L, Franklin RJM, Green A, Hauser SL, Chan JR

Oligodendrocytes and myelin limit neuronal plasticity in visual cortex.

Nature

Xin W, Kaneko M, Roth RH, Zhang A, Nocera S, Ding JB, Stryker MP, Chan JR

Targeting the muscarinic M1 receptor with a selective, brain-penetrant antagonist to promote remyelination in multiple sclerosis.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Poon MM, Lorrain KI, Stebbins KJ, Edu GC, Broadhead AR, Lorenzana AJ, Roppe JR, Baccei JM, Baccei CS, Chen AC, Green AJ, Lorrain DS, Chan JR

Minimum effective dose of clemastine in a mouse model of preterm white matter injury.

Pediatric research

Odell EP, Jabassini N, Schniedewind B, Pease-Raissi SE, Frymoyer A, Christians U, Green AJ, Chan JR, Ostrem BEL