Dr. Jun Zhu
Research Associate Professor

Dr. Zhu received his B.S. in Medicine and his MD degree from Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. He earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1998 from the University of Fukui Faculty of Medical Sciences (Former Fukui Medical University) in Japan under the mentorship of Dr. Ikunobo Muramatsu. Dr. Zhu was an Assistant Professor at Department of Pharmacology, University of Fukui Faculty of Medical Sciences in Japan, and has worked as Research Assistant Professor at College of Pharmacy at University of Kentucky, before joining the faculty at University of South Carolina.

Dr. Zhu has been serving as a member of the Society for Neuroscience and American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

Drug abuse is a significant public health problem. Although some of drug users will eventually become addicted, not all will. Dr. Zhu’s research focus is to investigate the genetic and environmental influences underlying individual vulnerabilities to drugs of abuse and individual's potential for abuse liability. Dr. Zhu's current research project attempts to link the effects of environmental enrichment versus impoverishment environment to D1 and D2 receptor mediated activation of DARPP-32, locomotor activity and behavioral sensitization in response to acute nicotine administration.

Additionally, Dr. Zhu’s research interest also involves in investigating cellular mechanisms underlying interactions between intravenous drug use and HIV infection in the brain.

Representative Publications:

Zhu J, Bardo MT, Green TA, Wedlund P, Dwoskin LP. (2007) Nicotine increases dopamine clearance in medial prefrontal cortex in rats raised in an enriched environment. J Neurochemistry (in revision).

Zhu J, Bardo MT, Bruntz RC, Stairs D, Dwoskin LP. (2007) Individual differences in prefrontal cortex dopamine transporter function and cell surface expression and differential response to nicotine. Eur J Neuroscience Jul 25; [Epub ahead of print].

Sumithran SP, Crooks PA, Xu R, Zhu J, Deaciuc AG, Wilkins LH, Dwoskin LP. (2005) Incorporation of rigidity into the n-n-alkyl chain of the nicotinic receptor antagonists, NONI and NDNI: effect on affinity and selectivity. The AAPS Journal 7(1):E201-217.

Zhu J, Apparsundaram S, Bardo MT, Dwoskin LP. (2005) Environmental enrichment decreases cell surface expression of dopamine transporter in rat medial prefrontal cortex. J Neurochemistry 93:1434-1443.

Neugebauer NM, Tiffany Cunningham S, Zhu J, Bryant RI, Dwoskin LP. (2004) Effect of environmental enrichment on behavior and dopamine transporter in medial prefrontal cortex in adult rats prenatally treated with cocaine. Dev Brain Res 153:213-223.

Dwoskin LP, Sumithran SP, Zhu J, Deaciuc AG, Ayers JT, Crooks PA. (2004) Subtype-selective nicotinic receptor antagonists: potential as tobacco use cessation agents. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 14:1863-1867.

Zhu J, Green TA, Bardo MT, Dwoskin LP. (2004) Environmental enrichment enhances sensitization to GBR 12935-induced activity and decreases dopamine transporter function in the medial prefrontal cortex. Behav Brain Res 148:107-117.

Zhu J, Crooks PA, Ayers JT, Sumithran SP, Dwoskin LP. (2003) N-n-alkylnicotinium and n-n-alkylpyridinium analogs, a novel class of nicotinic receptor antagonists: Inhibition of the dopamine transporter. Drug Dev Res 61:1-15.

Maragos WF, Zhu J, Chesnut MD, Dwoskin LP. (2002) Mitochondrial toxin inhibition of [3H]dopamine uptake into rat striatal synaptosomes. Biochemical Pharmacol 63:1499-1505.

Zhu J, Taniguchi T, Tanaka T, Suzuki F, Muramatsu I. (2000) Effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on development of [3H]hemicholinium-3 binding sites in rat neonate brain. J J Pharmacol 84:32-35.

Zhu J, Taniguchi T, Suzuki F, Tanaka T, Muramatsu I. (2000) Interaction of inverse agonist and neutral antagonist in a constitutively active mutant of alpha-1a adrenoceptor: a potential therapeutic implication. Br J Pharmacol 131:546-552.

Piao H, Taniguchi T, Nakamura S, Zhu J, Suzuki F, Mikami D, Muramatsu I. (2000) Cloning of rabbit alpha(1b)-adrenoceptor and pharmacological comparison of alpha(1a)-, alpha(1b)- and alpha(1d) adrenoceptors in rabbit. Eur J Pharmacol 396:9-17.

Zhu J, Taniguchi T, Konishi Y, Mayumi M, Muramatsu I. (1998) Nicotine administration decreases the number of binding sites and mRNA of M1 and M2 muscarinic receptor subtypes in specific brain regions of rat neonates. Life Science 62:1089-1098.

Zhu J, Manabu T, Konishi Y, Sudo M, Muramatsu I. (1996) Chronic nicotine treatment delays the developmental increase in brain muscarinic receptors in rat neonate. Brain Res 732:257-260.

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