SCoBIRC FACULTY

Chen-Guang Yu, Ph.D., M.D.

Research Assistant Professor
Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

Chen-Guang Yu received his M.D. degree from Anhui Medical College in Anhui Province, China, in 1982. He received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology, from the Shanghai Second Medical University, Shanghai, China, in 1996. He performed a post-doctoral Associate at University of Miami, Miami, from 1998-2000 and was a faculty member (Assistant Scientist/Research Assistant Professor) at University of Florida from 2001 -2005. He joined Dr. Geddes' lab in the SCoBIRC, University of Kentucky in May of 2005, as a Scientist III. Dr. Yu is an expert in spinal cord injury model, SCI pain and the roles of calpain and ERK1/2 in spinal cord injury. He works with Dr. James W. Geddes on the pharmacological and gene therapy interventions for spinal cord injury.

Research Interests

My research interests are studying pathological mechanisms of spinal cord injury (SCI) and pharmacological/gene therapeutic interventions for SCI. More specifically, my research interests include the following area of spinal cord injury: 1) calpain inhibition as a therapeutic intervention following SCI using calpain inhibitors, lentiviral-calpastatin, and lentiviral-calpain shRNA; and 2) the roles of ERK1/2 cascade implicated in the secondary injury following SCI and ERK inhibition strategy for treatment of SCI.

Select Publications

Yu CG and Geddes JW, Sustained calpain inhibition improves locomotor function and tissue sparing following contusion spinal cord injury (submitted).

Yu, C.G. and R.P. Yezierski, Activation of the ERK1/2 signaling cascade by excitotoxic spinal cord injury. Brain Res Mol Brain Res, 2005. 138(2): p. 244-55.

Berens, S.A., D.C. Colvin, C.G. Yu, R.P. Yezierski, and T.H. Mareci, Evaluation of the pathologic characteristics of excitotoxic spinal cord injury with MR imaging. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol, 2005. 26(7): p. 1612-22.

Yezierski, R.P., C.G. Yu, P.W. Mantyh, C.J. Vierck, and D.A. Lappi, Spinal neurons involved in the generation of at-level pain following spinal injury in the rat. Neurosci Lett, 2004. 361(1-3): p. 232-6.

Caudle, R.M., F.M. Perez, C. King, C.G. Yu, and R.P. Yezierski, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit expression and phosphorylation following excitotoxic spinal cord injury in rats. Neurosci Lett, 2003. 349(1): p. 37-40.

Yu, C.G., C.A. Fairbanks, G.L. Wilcox, and R.P. Yezierski, Effects of agmatine, interleukin-10, and cyclosporin on spontaneous pain behavior after excitotoxic spinal cord injury in rats. J Pain, 2003. 4(3): p. 129-40.

Gorman, A.L., C.G. Yu, G.R. Ruenes, L. Daniels, and R.P. Yezierski, Conditions affecting the onset, severity, and progression of a spontaneous pain-like behavior after excitotoxic spinal cord injury. J Pain, 2001. 2(4): p. 229-40.

Plunkett, J.A., C.G. Yu, J.M. Easton, J.R. Bethea, and R.P. Yezierski, Effects of interleukin-10 (IL-10) on pain behavior and gene expression following excitotoxic spinal cord injury in the rat. Exp Neurol, 2001. 168(1): p. 144-54.

Yu, C.G., J. Jagid, G. Ruenes, W.D. Dietrich, A.E. Marcillo, and R.P. Yezierski, Detrimental effects of systemic hyperthermia on locomotor function and histopathological outcome after traumatic spinal cord injury in the rat. Neurosurgery, 2001. 49(1): p. 152-8; discussion 158-9.

Yu CG, Marcillo AE, Fairbanks CA, Wilcox GL, Yezierski RP. Agmatine improves locomotor function and reduces tissue damage following spinal cord injury. Neuroreport. 2000. 11(14):3203-7.

Fairbanks, C.A., K.L. Schreiber, K.L. Brewer, C.G. Yu, L.S. Stone, K.F. Kitto, H.O. Nguyen, B.M. Grocholski, D.W. Shoeman, L.J. Kehl, S. Regunathan, D.J. Reis, R.P. Yezierski, and G.L. Wilcox, Agmatine reverses pain induced by inflammation, neuropathy, and spinal cord injury. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2000. 97(19): p. 10584-9.

Yu, C.G., O. Jimenez, A.E. Marcillo, B. Weider, K. Bangerter, W.D. Dietrich, S. Castro, and R.P. Yezierski, Beneficial effects of modest systemic hypothermia on locomotor function and histopathological damage following contusion-induced spinal cord injury in rats. J Neurosurg, 2000. 93(1 Suppl): p. 85-93.