Yongli Chen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Program Chair, Physical Sciences
Email: ychen@hpu.edu
Office Phone: 808-236-3547
Office Location: 250 Hawaii Loa Campus
Education: Postdoctoral fellowship, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Ph.D. Biophysics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. M.S. Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. B.Eng. (Honors) Chemistry, Minor: Computer Science, Central South University, Changsha, China
Professional Interests: Ligand-gated neurotransmitter receptors (ion channels) and their modulation by small organic compounds
Courses Taught at HPU: CHEM 4030/1/2/3 Biochemistry lecture and laboratories; CHEM 4095 Biochemistry seminar
Research Interests:
My principle research interest is to study the functional modulation of neurotransmitter receptors. Neurotransmitter receptors are responsible for communication between billions neurons of mammalian central nervous system. My current research is focusing on glutamate receptor and GABAA receptors, the primary excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor, respectively. They are involved in many neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson, epilepsy etc.
I work closely with our undergraduate students. Currently, I have five undergraduate and one master graduate students working in the lab.
