Research Interests:

Hypertension is a worldwide public health challenge, and poses a substantial burden globally. It affects approximately 30% of adult population and is a major risk factor for stroke, heart failure and chronic kidney disease. Hypertension, especially resistant hypertension, is associated with enhanced sympathetic tone. Its activity is controlled by autonomic nuclei and their circuits in the CNS. Perturbations of these nuclei have been implicated in hypertension. We and others showed that neuroinflammation is a character of hypertension. Remarkably, central anti-inflammatory treatments significantly suppress blood pressure in hypertensive animals. My research is focus on microglia, the primary innate immune cells in the CNS, induced neuroinflammation, and their effects on sympathetic activity in hypertension and cardiovascular disease.  To understand the effects of microglia in hypertension, my research is focus on the following aims:

1. To understand the characteristic of microglial activation at the onset and maintenance of hypertension;

2. To study the effects of microglial activation on the progress of hypertension;

3. To investigate the mechanism by which activated microglia interact sympathetic neurons, thereby influences sympathetic outflow and blood pressure.