Pericyte and Neurovascular Health Lab

Hongkuan Fan · Charleston, South Carolina

Medical University of South Carolina · Biology

Research focus

Dr. Hongkuan Fan's lab at the Medical University of South Carolina focuses on understanding how a specific type of brain cell, called pericytes, is involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease. They study how disruptions in blood flow and the blood-brain barrier affect brain function and contribute to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's. The lab is exploring a molecule called Fli-1 that may play a crucial role in these processes, with the hope of developing new treatment strategies for Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's DiseasepericytesFli-1cerebral blood flowblood-brain barrierneurovascular dysfunctioncognitive impairmentapoptosistherapeutic strategies

Research aims

AIM 01Investigate how Fli-1 regulates pericyte and neurovascular cell dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease models.

AIM 02Understand the mechanisms through which pericyte dysfunction leads to brain hypoperfusion and cognitive impairment.

AIM 03Evaluate the therapeutic potential of Fli-1 Gapmers in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.

Skills the lab values

mouse modelscell cultureWestern blotimmunohistochemistryRNA isolationflow cytometryin situ hybridizationmolecular cloninginjections

Output against the department

87publicationsbottom 28% of the department742nd of 1,033

most publishedleast published

2.8kcitationsbottom 21% of the department820th of 1,033

most citedleast cited

Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. Position on each rail is this lab's rank, not its distance from the top: a department runs from one paper to tens of thousands, so rank is the only comparison that stays readable across it.