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Dr SONG, You-qiang 宋又强

Dr SONG, You-qiang 宋又强

  • BSc (Sichuan Agricultural U); PhD (U of Reading); Postdoc fellow (U of Toronto)
  • Principal Lecturer
L3-63, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong
+852 3917 9245
+852 2855 1254
HKU Scholars Hub
ORCID
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ResearchGate
  • Understanding the molecular basis of human complex diseases
  • Human genetics/Bioinformatics
    The main research in my laboratory is aimed at understanding the molecular basis of human complex diseases. These complex diseases are caused by the interaction between genes and environmental factors. We are mapping the disease gene's location in the genome and identifying novel genes through genomics screens and next-generation sequencing technologies. By pinpointing the responsible genes, we expect to acquire a better knowledge about the etiology of these so far poorly understood diseases, which in turn will allow more accurate diagnosis and more specific genetic counseling. In order to speed up study of human complex diseases, we are also interested in developing bioinformatic tools to incorporate biological function with statistic analysis.
  • Alzheimer disease
    The molecular link between amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the two pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is still unclear. Our study in the Pax 6 gene has revealed an important finding that unite three facets of AD pathophysiology: amyloid, tauopathy, and specific aspects of neurodegeneration. Moreover, we were the first team to detect mutations in the MLKL gene in ApoE ɛ4-negative Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pateints. MLKL has an important inter-playing role between the Amyloid pathways and autophagy in AD. We also have several targets genes in studying and developing drugs to intervent these pathways by using Chinese herb formula for multi-targeting, small molecule compounds and small activating RNA (saRNA). Moreover, we are interested in developing biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease. In the past 16 years in collaboration with clinicians in QMH,  we have established a unique AD sample set in Chinese subjects and longitudinal follow-up from Memory Cognitive Impaired (MCI) converted to AD. we would develop new biomarkers with recent advanced technologies development, which we have being waited for many years while we collected these precious samples.
  1. Wang X#, Yue M#, Cheung JPY#* (the three authors contributed equally), Cheung PWH, Fan Y, Wu M, Wang X, Zhao S, Khanshour AM, Rios JJ, Chen Z, Wang X, Tu W, Chan D, Yuan Q, Qin D, Qiu G, Wu Z, Zhang TJ, Ikegawa S, Wu N, Wise CA, Hu Y, Luk KDK, Song YQ*, Gao B*. Impaired glycine neurotransmission causes adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. J Clin Invest. 2024 Jan 16;134(2):e168783. doi: 10.1172/JCI168783. PMID: 37962965; PMCID: PMC10786698. (Corresponding author: SYQ, GB, CJPY)
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  2. Li S, Poon CH, Zhang Z, Yue M, Chen R, Zhang Y, Hossain MF, Pan Y, Zhao J, Rong L, Chu LW, Shea YF, Rogaeva E, Tu J, St George-Hyslop P, Lim LW, Song YQ. MicroRNA-128 suppresses tau phosphorylation and reduces amyloid-beta accumulation by inhibiting the expression of GSK3β, APPBP2, and mTOR in Alzheimer's disease. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2023 Jul;29(7):1848-1864. doi:10.1111/cns.14143. (Corresponding author: SYQ, LLW) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36880288/ 
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  3. Zhang YL#, Zhang Y# (the two authors contributed equally), Aman A, Ng  CT, Chau WH, Zhang ZG, Yue M, Bohm C, Jia YZ, Li SW, Yuan Q, Griffin J, Chiu K, Wong D, Wang BB, Jin DY, Rogaeva E, Fraser P, Fang E, St George-Hyslop P and Song YQ*. Amyloid β Toxicity Modulates Tau Phosphorylation through the Pax6 Signalling Pathway. (Corresponding author: SYQ) Brain, 2021; awab134, https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awab134 Full text: https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awab134/6356359?guestAccessKey=400fb70a-1733-4c1b-898e-5322278e77f5

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  4. Hossain MF#, Wang N# (the two authors contributed equally), Chen R, Li S, Roy J, Uddin MG, Li Z, Lim LW*, Song YQ*. Exploring the multifunctional role of melatonin in regulating autophagy and sleep to mitigate Alzheimer's disease neuropathology. Ageing Res Rev. 2021 Feb 18;67:101304. (Corresponding authors: LLW and SYQ)
  5. Zhang Z, Yang X, Song YQ*, Tu J*. Autophagy in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis: Therapeutic potential and future perspectives. Ageing Res Rev. 2021 Sep 20;72:101464. (Corresponding authors: SYQ and TJ) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568163721002117?via%3Dihub
  6. Wong KC, Lin J, Li X, Lin Q, Liang C, Song YQ. Heterodimeric DNA motif synthesis and validations. Nucleic Acids Res. 2019;47(4):1628-1636.
  7. Wang B#, Bao S#, Zhang Z# (the three authors contributed equally), Zhou X, Wang J, Fan Y, Zhang Y, Li Y, Chen L, Jia Y, Li J, Li M, Zheng W, Mu N, Wang L, Yu Z, Wong DSM, Zhang Y, Kwan J, Ka-Fung Mak H, Ambalavanan A, Zhou S, Cai W, Zheng J, Huang S, Rouleau GA, Yang W, Rogaeva E, Ma X*, St George-Hyslop P, Chu LW*, Song YQ*. A rare variant in MLKL confers susceptibility to ApoE ɛ4-negative Alzheimer's disease in Hong Kong Chinese population. Neurobiol Aging. 2018 Aug;68:160.e1-160.e7. (Corresponding authors: MX, CLW, SYQ)
  8. Yu Z#, Tang PL#, Wang J# (the three authors contributed equally), Bao S, Shieh JT, Leung AW, Zhang Z, Gao F, Wong SY, Hui AL, Gao Y, Dung N, Zhang ZG, Fan Y, Zhou X, Zhang Y, Wong DS, Sham PC, Azhar A, Kwok PY, Tam PP, Lian Q, Cheah KS*, Wang B*, Song YQ*. Mutations in Hnrnpa1 cause congenital heart defects. JCI Insight. 2018 Jan 25;3(2). https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/98555. (Corresponding authors: CKS, WB, SYQ)
  9. Li M#, Li J# (the two authors contributed equally), Li MJ, Pan Z, Hsu JS, Liu DJ, Zhan X, Wang J, Song Y, Sham PC. Robust and rapid algorithms facilitate large-scale whole genome sequencing downstream analysis in an integrative framework. Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Jan 23.
  10. Plani-Lam JH, Chow TC, Fan YH, Garcia-Bloj B, Cheng L, Jin DY, Hancock W, Fanayan S, Ingley E, Song YQ*. High expression of PTPN21 in B-cell non-Hodgkin's gastric lymphoma, a positive mediator of STAT5 activity. Blood Cancer J. 2016 Jan 15;6:e388. (Corresponding author: SYQ)
  11. Plani-Lam JH, Chow TC, Siu KL, Chau WH, Ng MH, Bao S, Ng CT, Sham P, Shum DK,  Ingley E, Jin DY, Song YQ*. PTPN21 exerts pro-neuronal survival and neuritic elongation via ErbB4/NRG3 signaling. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2015 Apr;61:53-62. (Corresponding author: SYQ)
  12. Song YQ#*, Karasugi T# (the two authors contributed equally), Cheung KMC, Chiba K,  Ho DWH, Miyake A, Kao PYP, Sze KL, Yee A, Takahashi A, Kawaguchi Y, Mikami Y, Matsumoto M, Togawa D, Kanayama D, Shi DQ, Dai J, Jiang Q, Wu CG, Tian W, Wang N, Leong JCY,  Luk KDK, Yip SP, Cherny SS, Wang JW, Mundlos S, Kelempisioti A, Eskola PJ, Männikkö M, Mäkelä P, Karppinen J, Järvelin MR, O'Reilly PF, Kubo M, Kimura T, Kubo T, Toyama Y, Mizuta Y, Cheah KSE, Tsunoda T, Sham P, Ikegawa S* and Chan D* (2013) Lumbar disc degeneration is linked to a carbohydrate sulfotransferase 3 variant. J Clin Invest 123(11):4909-4917. doi:10.1172/JCI69277. (Corresponding authors: SYQ, IS and CD)
  13. Chen LH, Kao PY, Fan YH, Ho DT, Chan CS, Yik PY, Ha JC, Chu LW, Song YQ*. Polymorphisms of CR1, CLU and PICALM confer susceptibility of Alzheimer's disease in a southern Chinese population. Neurobiol Aging 2012 Jan, 33(1):210.e1-7.
  14. Li MX, Jiang L, Kao PY, Sham PC, Song YQ* (2009) IGG3: A tool to rapidly integrate large genotype datasets for whole-genome imputation and individual-level meta-analysis. Bioinformatics 25(11):1449-50. (Corresponding author: SYQ)
  15. Song YQ#, Cheung KMC#, Ho DWH# (the first three authors contributed equally), Poon SCS, Chiba K, Kawaguchi Y, Hirose Y, Alini M, Grad S, Yee AFY, Leong JCY, Luk KDK, Yip SP, Karppinen J, Cheah KSE, Sham P, Ikegawa S* and Chan D* (2008) Association of the asporin D14 allele with lumbar-disc degeneration in Asians. Am J Hum Genet 82(3):744-7.
  16. The International HapMap Consortium, including authors from the university of Hong Kong: Tsui LC, Mak W, Sham PC, Song YQ & Tam PKH (2007) A second generation human haplotype map of over 3.1 million SNPs. Nature 449, 851-861.
  17. Rogaeva E, Meng Y, Lee JH, Gu Y, Kawarai T, Zou F, Katayama T, Baldwin CT, Cheng R, Hasegawa H, Chen F, Shibata N, Lunetta KL, Pardossi-Piquard R, Bohm C, Wakutani Y, Cupples LA, Cuenco KT, Green RC, Pinessi L, Rainero I, Sorbi S, Bruni A, Duara R, Friedland RP, Inzelberg R, Hampe W, Bujo H, Song YQ, Andersen OM, Willnow TE, Graff-Radford N, Petersen RC, Dickson D, Der SD, Fraser PE, Schmitt-Ulms G, Younkin S, Mayeux R, Farrer LA, St George-Hyslop P. (2007) The sortilin-related receptor SORL1 is genetically associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Nature Genetics 39(2):168-177.
  18. Barker W, Harwood D, Rogaeva E, Duara R and St. George-Hyslop P, Song Y (1998) ApoE-e4 allele and the risk of Alzheimer's Disease among Hispanics. JAMA 280(19): 1661-1662.
  • Targeting CD22 in Alzheimer’s disease (Industrial collaboration) (2023-2026)
  • Inhibition of Pax6 Signaling Linking Between Amyloid β Plaques And Neurofibrillary Tangles In Alzheimer’s Disease Using Repurposed Drugs (ITF MRP/056/21) (2022-2025)
  • Novel diagnostic blood biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease. HA Data Collaboration Lab (HADCL A000101) (2022-2023)
  • Functional Interrogation of Non-Coding Regulatory Regions Identified from Hirschsprung Disease Patients (HMRF 08191496) (2022-2025)
  • Protecting older people from loneliness during the coronavirus (Covid-19) and other novel infectious disease pandemic (C8105-20G) (2021-2023)
  • Genetic study of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in Chinese and functional analysis of a disease variant (RGC 2019-2021)
  • Study of the pathogenic mechanisms of Hnrnpa1 in congenital heart defects (RGC 2015-2018)
  • Modeling host susceptibility to influenza H7N9 virus in inbred mice: a pilot study (HMRF 2015-2016)
  • Study of Population Specific Linkage Disequilibrium (LD) Patterns of Human Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Region for Cancers, Infectious and Autoimmunity Diseases in Southern Chinese (HMRF 2014-2015)
  • Investigation on Pax6 regulation of neuronal apoptosis in Alzheimer’s disease (NSFC 2013-2016)
  • Identification of a genetic variant for heart defects (CHD) on chromosome 15 in mice (RGC 2013-2015)
  • In silico identification of genetic variations that affect resistance to influenza A virus infection (RFCID 2012-2013)
  • Detecting and functional analysis of a novel gene (Cer1) significantly associated with bone mineral density (BMD) in mice. (CERG 2008-2011)
  • Fine mapping candidate loci for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in southern Chinese specifically linked to EBV aetiopathogenesis. (RFCID 2008-2010).
  • Mapping a genetic modifier for heart defects in Type IIA procollagen deficient mutant mice. (CERG 2006-2009)
  • Mapping and cloning a new gene for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a large Chinese family. (CERG 2004-2007)
  • Genetic linkage analysis of early onset degenerative disc disease in Southern Chinese.  (CERG 2003-2006)
  • Potentiating Host Immunity for HIV-1 Functional Cure. UGC: Theme-based Research (2019-2023)
  • The AoE on Developmental Genomics and Skeletal Research.  UGC, 2004-2009.
  • The HK HapMap team. UGC and ITF: 2004-2005.
  • The National High Technology Research and Development Programme of China (国家高技术研究发展计划(863) 计划): 高效能计算机及网格服务环境---新药研发网格 (2006AA01A124)

Song-lab-2021

  • Dr. Siwen Li
  • Dr. Ruijun Chen
  • Mohammad Farhad Hossain– PhD Student
  • Georgy Sapozhnikov – PhD Student
  • Wenjin Liu – PhD Student
  • Rajesh Ranganathan – MPhil Studen
  • Zeyi Chen – PhD Student
  • Jing Li – PhD Student
  • Wanjin Lai – PhD Student
  • Adrian So – MBBS student
  • Steven Mao – Summer high school student (Project: Understaning and Practice of Muscic Therapy for dementia in Hong Kong), https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fF_76VWdb6a_G3HlDdlL7bCP5K-TmpmN/view
  • Dr. Li Yan – PhD (graduated 2007)
  • Dr. Daniel Ho – PhD (graduated 2008)
  • Lam To Kam Cherry – MPhil (graduated 2008)
  • Dr. Miaoxin Li – PhD (graduated 2009)
  • Dr. Paul Tung – PhD (graduated 2010)
  • Dr. Patrich Kao – PhD (graduated 2010)
  • Dr. Yalun Zhang – PhD (graduated 2011)
  • Dr. Hoi Yee Li – PhD (graduated 2011)
  • Dr. Luhua Chen – PhD (graduated 2012)
  • Dr. Yanhui Fan – PhD (graduated 2012)
  • Mr. Philip Chau – MPhil (graduated 2013)
  • Dr. Janice Lam – PhD (graduated 2013)
  • Dr. Suying Bao – PhD (graduated 2014)
  • Dr. Yizhen Jia – PhD (graduated 2014)
  • Dr. Xibin Lu – PhD (graduated 2014)
  • Ms. Yunyan Zhao – Visiting student (2015)
  • Mr. Gordon Ng – MPhil (graduated 2015)
  • Dr. Jiang Li – PhD (graduated 2016)
  • Dr. Zhe Yu – PhD (graduated 2017)
  • Dr. Mandy Rong Liu – PhD (graduated 2019)
  • Dr. Zhigang Zhang – PhD (graduated 2019)
  • Dr. Siwen Li – PhD (graduated 2021)
  • Dr. Bo Zhou – PhD (graduated 2021)
  • Dr. Ruijun Chen – PhD (graduated 2022)  
  • Ms. Wenjing Lai – MSc (graduated 2022)
  • Dr. Yi Zhang - PhD (graduated 2023)
  • Dr. Ming Yu - PhD (graduated 2023)
  • Dr. Shiya Yu – PhD (graduated 2023)
  1. 一种治疗阿尔茨海默病的中药组合物及其制备方法和应用, 宋又强,曹克俭, 李思雯, 陈瑞俊 (China: CN116421681A and Hong Kong HK40087309)  
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  2. Compositions and methods of targeting the pax6 signaling pathway to reduce formation of amyloid βeta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. You-Qiang Song, Yalun Zhang, Yi Zhang (PCT: 63/191,925)

Last updated: 2024-02-02