Hsiao-Tuan Chao, MD, PhD
McNair Scholar, McNair Medical Institute at the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine
Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital
Research Statement: Neurodevelopmental disorders encompass a broad constellation of conditions including intellectual disability, epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia, and other neuropsychiatric conditions. These conditions are often co-morbid and share many overlapping clinical features, suggesting that despite etiologic differences there may be commonalities in mechanisms of disease. One emerging theme in the field is that disrupted inhibitory neuronal development and function is found in association with many neurodevelopmental disorders. This would be consistent with the growing body of knowledge that inhibitory neurons are highly diverse and key for virtually all aspects of neurobiology from neural circuit development to modulating neuronal activity to information processing. Disrupted inhibition perturbs the balance between excitatory and inhibitory signaling, resulting in aberrant neural circuit activity that is reflected by changes in cognition, emotion, and behavior. Therefore, elucidating the genetic etiologies of inhibitory neuronal development and function has great potential to advance our understanding of inhibitory neurobiology in health and disease. However, determining the genetic underpinnings is only the first step. The critical advances needed for translation of human genetic studies into clinical applications is to identify the consequences of genetic alterations at the molecular, cellular, neural network, and whole-organism levels. This detailed mechanistic dissection of neurodevelopmental disorders will bridge molecular function to disease pathogenesis, which is crucial for the development of effective targeted therapeutics.
In the Chao Lab, we integrate mechanistic studies of well-defined single gene neurodevelopmental disorders with cross-species approaches in humans to uncover the genetic etiologies, fruit flies to elucidate the molecular pathways, and mice to explore the cascade of events in the mammalian brain. A wide variety of approaches and techniques are employed in our laboratory including genetically engineered mouse and fruit fly models, structural and functional analyses with electrophysiology, confocal and super-resolution imaging, transcriptomics, molecular and cellular assays, and comprehensive behavioral profiling. Our goal is to determine the role of inhibitory dysfunction in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders by deciphering how genetic alterations perturb inhibition in the brain, impact neural development, and lead to abnormal neurologic output.
Publications
Chao HT*, Davids M*, Burke E, Pappas JG, Rosenfeld JA, McCarty A, Davis T, Wolfe L, Toro C, Tifft C, Xia F, Johnson TK, Warr CG, Members of the UDN, Yamamoto S, Adams D, Markello TC, Gahl WA, Bellen HJ, Wangler MF, Malicdan MCV. 2017 (Epub 2016). A syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by de novo variants in EBF3. *equal contribution. American Journal of Human Genetics. 100:128-137. PMID 28017372.
View a complete list of publications by Hsiao-Tuan Chao, MD PhD
Awards
Awards
McNair Faculty Scholar, McNair Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, 2019
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists, 2018
“The Short Read”, profiled in Frontline Genomics, 2018
STAT News Wunderkind Award, STAT News, 2017
Child Neurology Society Outstanding Junior Member Award, 2017
Child Neurology Career Development Program Scholar, Kennedy Krieger Institute, 2017
AAN Neurology Research Training Scholar, American Academy of Neurology, 2017
AAN Child Neurology Annual Meeting Scholarship, American Academy of Neurology, 2016
Chief Resident, Pediatric Neurology Residency, Baylor College of Medicine, 2015-2016
Leadership for Women Travel Award, Breakthroughs in Neurology Conference, American Academy of Neurology, 2015
Department of Pediatrics Award for Best Research Poster Presentation, Baylor College of Medicine, 2014
Best Performance in Medical School Award, Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, 2012
Drs. Benjamin and Margarie Mo Scholar, Chinese American Doctors Association of Houston, 2012
Top 10 Autism Research Findings of 2010, Autism Speaks, 2011
Best Publication of 2010 Award, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, 2011
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Outstanding Community BRASS Scholar, Baylor College of Medicine, 2010
Commencement speaker, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, 2010
BCM Alumni Association Outstanding Student Award, Baylor College of Medicine, 2010
Deborah K. Martin Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, 2009
Best Oral Presentation of 31st Annual Scientific Symposium, MSTP, Baylor College of Medicine, 2008
Best Publication Award, Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, 2007
Trentin Scholar, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, 2006
Baylor Research Advocates for Student Scientists (BRASS) Scholar, Baylor College of Medicine, 2004-2010
McNair Student Scholar, Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002-2012
Alumni Scholarship, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002
Special Honors in Plan II Honors, University of Texas at Austin, 2002
Distinguished College Scholar, University of Texas at Austin, 2001-2002
Ira Iscoe Endowed Presidential Scholarship, Plan II Honors Program, University of Texas at Austin, 2001
Deans’ Scholars Honors Program, College of Natural Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 2000-2002
Banks Scholarship in Chemistry, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin, 2000
Schumacher Memorial Scholarship, Plan II Honors Program, University of Texas at Austin, 2000
Half-Century Longhorns Scholarship, Ex-Students’ Association, University of Texas at Austin, 1999
Piper Scholar, Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation, 1999-2002