Qiu Ruan

Email: qruan@bu.edu

Phone: (617)638-5324 (o), (857)204-6385 (c)

Research interests: Understand the mechanism through which a gene called Hnrnph1 (heterogeneous ribonuclear protein H1) is regulating methamphetamine-induced response with the goal of anti-addiction treatment.

Current research: Through a forward genetics approach of quantitative trait locus mapping between two inbreed mouse strains with differential sensitivity to drugs of abuse, our lab was able to identify and validate a gene called Hnrnph1 (heterogeneous ribonuclear protein H1) to be the quantitative trait gene underlying a reduced sensitivity to the addictive properties of methamphetamine. My goal is to understand the mechanism through which this gene is regulating methamphetamineinduced response, which includes characterizing the brain region and cell type specific function of Hnrnph1 within the mesolimbic reward circuit and a transcriptome profiling of its RNA binding targets to identifying novel neuro-modulators for anti-addiction treatment.

System of Study: