Education

2018-2022, Sun Yat-Sen University, Ph.D.

Research experiences

2025-present, Southern Medical University, Professor

2022-2025, Sun Yat-sen University, Boxing and Lianyan Lab, Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Introduction

Our lab investigates the neural mechanisms underlying emotion and social behavior, with a focus on how emotional states and social information are integrated in the brain to shape adaptive social behavior. Our research combines fundamental analyses of neural circuits with studies of emotion-related psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, and depression.

Publications

1. Shunchang Fang, Zhengyi Luo, Zicheng Wei, Yuxin Qin, Jieyan Zheng, Hongyang Zhang, Jianhua Jin, Jiali Li, Chenjian Miao, Shana Yang, Yonglin Li, Zirui Liang, Xiao-Dan Yu, Xiao Min Zhang, Wei Xiong, Hongying Zhu, Wen-Biao Gan, Lianyan Huang*, Boxing Li*. Sexually dimorphic control of affective state processing and empathic behaviors. Neuron. 2024; 112(9):1498-1517.e8.

2. Shunchang Fang#, Yuxin Qin#, Hanbing Lian#, Yufang Zhong, Yishuai Yang, Xiao-Dan Yu, Shana Yang, Jiankai Liang, Wenhui Xiao, Songhai Wen, Xiao Min Zhang, Boxing Li*, Lianyan Huang*. Reduced oxytocin signaling in the dBNST drives the transition from acute pain to persistent anxiety. Current Biology. 2025; 35(21):5150-5166.e8.

3. Shunchang Fang#, Yuxin Qin#, Shana Yang, Hongyang Zhang, Jieyan Zheng, Songhai Wen, Weimin Li, Zirui Liang, Xiaomin Zhang, Boxing Li*, Lianyan Huang*. Differences in the neural basis and transcriptomic patterns in acute and persistent pain-related anxiety-like behaviors. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. 2023; 16:1185243.

4. Shunchang Fang, Hang Xie, Fang Chen, Mei Hu, Yan Long, Hong-Bin Sun, Ling-Yi Kong, Hao Hong*, Su-Su Tang*. Simvastatin ameliorates memory impairment and neurotoxicity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Neuroscience. 2017; 355:200-211.

5. Jing-Ran Lin#, Shunchang Fang#, Su-Su Tang, Mei Hu, Yan Long, Arijit Ghosh, Hong-Bin Sun, Ling-Yi Kong, Hao Hong*. Hippocampal CysLT1R knockdown or blockade represses LPS-induced depressive behaviors and neuroinflammatory response in mice. Acta Pharmacologica Sinica. 2017; 38(4):477-487.

6. Lixi Chen#, Zhiduo Zhang#, Shana Yang#, Yun Tang, Xuanhe Wang, Wenfu Li, Lin Yang, Chenyi Guo, Shunchang Fang, Wenhui Xiao, Minbiao Yan, Yonglin Li, Taixuan Peng, Boxing Li, Xiao Min Zhang*, Lianyan Huang*. Developmental neuroplasticity enables recovery from anesthetic-induced synaptic perturbations in the immature brain. Neurochemistry International. 2025; 190:106051.

7. Jieyan Zheng#, Xiao Min Zhang#, Wenting Tang, Yonglin Li, Pei Wang, Jianhua Jin, Zhengyi Luo, Shunchang Fang, Shana Yang, Zicheng Wei, Kexin Song, Zihan Huang, Zihao Wang, Ziyu Zhu, Naizhen Shi, Diyun Xiao, Linyu Yuan, Hualin Shen, Lianyan Huang*, Boxing Li*. An insular cortical circuit required for itch sensation and aversion. Current Biology. 2024; 34(7):1453-1468.e6.

8. Shana Yang#, Song Zhang#, Wenting Tang#, Shunchang Fang, Hongyang Zhang, Jieyan Zheng, Xia Liu, Ying Zhang, Liang Zhao, Lianyan Huang*, Boxing Li*. Enriched Environment Prevents Surgery-Induced Persistent Neural Inhibition and Cognitive Dysfunction. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 2021; 13:744719.

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