Shao-Jun Tang, PhD


Stony Brook Medicine Endowed Professorship in Anesthesiology
Vice Chair for Research
Director of The Stony Brook University Pain and Analgesia Research Center (SPARC)

Research Webpage
SPARC Webpage
Phone: 631-216-2800
Email
  • Education   
  • University of Toronto Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, PhD
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Pasadena, CA, Postdoc
  • University of California Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Fellowship
  • Research Interests   
  • Mechanisms of HIV-associated neuropathogenesis
    HIV-1 infection causes a spectrum of neurological and cognitive complications, collectively known as NeuroAIDS or NeuroHIV. We are studying one of the most common NeuroAIDS - HIV-associated pain. Our research aims to elucidate the molecular, synaptic and glial mechanisms by which HIV (or its components) and co-morbid factors (e.g., opioids and antiretroviral treatments) induce pathogenic processes in the neural circuits that transmit pain signals. A focal point of our current studies is to determine the contribution of neuron-glia interaction to the pathogenesis. We use interdisciplinary state-of-the-art methodologies, including single cell analysis, spatial transcriptomics, neural circuit manipulation, patch clamping recording, confocal imaging, and behavioral testing, to analyze animal models, postmortem patient specimens, and primary cultures of neurons and glia.
  • Recent Publications   
  • PubMed Search
  • Bush K, Wairkar Y, Tang SJ. Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors Are the Major Class of HIV Antiretroviral Therapeutics That Induce Neuropathic Pain in Mice. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Aug 21;25(16):9059
  • Chen X, Tang SJ. Neural Circuitry Polarization in the Spinal Dorsal Horn (SDH): A Novel Form of Dysregulated Circuitry Plasticity during Pain Pathogenesis. Cells. 2024 Feb 25;13(5):398.
  • Gordon C, Trainor J, Shah RJ, Studholme K, Gelman A, Doswell F, Sadar F, Giovannetti A, Gershenson J, Khan A, Nicholson J, Huang Z, Spurgat M, Tang SJ, Wang H, Ojima I, Carlson D, Komatsu DE, Kaczocha M. Fatty acid binding protein 5 inhibition attenuates pronociceptive cytokine/chemokine expression and suppresses osteoarthritis pain: A comparative human and rat study. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2023 Nov 28:S1063-4584.
  • Liu X, Tang SJ. Pathogenic mechanisms of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated pain. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Oct 19
  • Hankerd K, Koo H, McDonough KE, Wang J, Pariyar R, Tang SJ, Chung JM, La JH. Gonadal hormone-dependent nociceptor sensitization maintains nociplastic pain state in female mice. Pain. 2023 Feb 1;164(2):402-412.
  • Ou M, Chen Y, Liu J, Zhang D, Yang Y, Shen J, Miao C, Tang SJ, Liu X, Mulkey DK, Zhu T, Zhou C. Spinal Astrocytic MeCP2 Regulates Kir4.1 for the Maintenance of Chronic Hyperalgesia in Neuropathic Pain. Prog Neurobiol. 2023 Mar 15:102436.
  • Liu X, Bae C, Liu B, Zhang YM, Zhou X, Zhang D, Zhou C, DiBua A, Schutz L, Kaczocha M, Puopolo M, Yamaguchi TP, Chung JM, Tang SJ. Development of opioid-induced hyperalgesia depends on reactive astrocytes controlled by Wnt5a signaling. Mol Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 6.
  • Hankerd K, Koo H, McDonough KE, Wang J, Pariyar R, Tang SJ, Chung JM, La JH. Gonadal hormone-dependent nociceptor sensitization maintains nociplastic pain state in female mice. Pain. 2022 Jun 16.
  • Spurgat MS, Tang SJ. Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing: Astrocyte and Microglial Heterogeneity in Health and Disease. Cells. 2022 Jun 24;11(13):2021.
  • Hankerd K, McDonough KE, Wang J, Tang SJ, Chung JM, La JH. Postinjury stimulation triggers a transition to nociplastic pain in mice. Pain. 2022 Mar 1;163(3):461-473.
  • Liu X, Liu BL, Yang Q, Zhou X, Tang SJ. Microglial ablation does not affect opioid-induced hyperalgesia in rodents. Pain. 2022 Mar 1;163(3):508-517.
  • Watson Z, Tang SJ. Aberrant Synaptic Pruning in CNS Diseases: A Critical Player in HIV-Associated Neurological Dysfunction? Cells. 2022 Jun 16;11(12):1943
  • Tang SJ. Reactive astrocytes in pain neural circuit pathogenesis. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2022 Jun 16;75
  • Liu X, Bae C, Gelman BB, Chung JM, Tang SJ. A neuron-to-astrocyte Wnt5a signal governs astrogliosis during HIV-associated pain pathogenesis. Brain. 2022 Jan 18.
  • Shi Y, Yuan S, Tang SJ. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are Critical for Morphine Exacerbation of HIV-1 gp120-Induced Pain. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2021 Sep;16(3):581-591.
  • Kearns A, Jayasi J, Liu X, Wang J, Shi Y, Chung JM, La JH, Tang SJ, Bae C. Neuron Type-Dependent Synaptic Activity in the Spinal Dorsal Horn of Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia Mouse Model. Front Synaptic Neurosci. 2021 Nov 18;13:748929.
  • Jie Z, Ko CJ, Wang H, Xie X, Li Y, Gu M, Zhu L, Yang JY, Gao T, Ru W, Tang SJ, Cheng X, Sun SC. Microglia promote autoimmune inflammation via the noncanonical NF-κB pathway. Sci Adv. 2021 Sep 3;7(36)
  • Liu X, Liu BL, Yang Q, Zhou X, Tang S-J. Microglial ablation does not affect opioid-induced hyperalgesia in rodents. Pain. 2021 Jun 17.
  • Hankerd K, McDonough KE, Wang J, Tang SJ, Chung JM, La JH. Postinjury stimulation triggers a transition to nociplastic pain in mice. Pain. 2021 Jun 14
  • Zheng J, Ru W, Adolacion JR, Spurgat MS, Liu X, Yuan S, Liang RX, Dong J, Potter A, Potter SS, Varadarajan N, Tang S-J. Single-cell RNA-seq analysis reveals compartment-specific heterogeneity and plasticity of microglia. iScience. 2021 Feb 12;24(3):102186
  • Bush KM, Barber KR, Martinez JA, Tang S-J, Wairkar YP. Drosophila model of anti-retroviral therapy induced peripheral neuropathy and nociceptive hypersensitivity. Biol Open. 2021 Jan 27;10(1)
  • Shi Y, Yuan S, Tang S-J. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are critical for morphine exacerbation of HIV-1 gp120-induced pain. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2020 Aug 22
  • Recent Presentations   
  • Yuan S, Patrikeev I, Liew J, Motamedi M, Tang S-J. Development of noninvasive calcium-initiated bioluminescence imaging to measure nociception in mice. Society for Neuroscience 2024
  • Watson Z, Zheng J, Spurgat M, Ru W, Tang S. Glia-mediated synapse pruning in HIV gp120 transgenic mice. Society for Neuroscience 2021