Research

Research interests

1. Mammalian Hibernation

Low temperature injury and ischemia reperfusion injury seriously affect the preservation time of human organs and the success rate of organ transplantation. In the nature, many mammals possess hibernation ability. During hibernation, hibernating animals can drop their body temperatures to about 5℃, and protect their organs from hypothermia and ischemia-reperfusion. Therefore, studying the protective mechanisms of organs of hibernating animals is helpful to improve the preservation scheme of human organs and the success rate of organ transplantation.

2. High-frequency hearing

Ultrasound perception is indispensable in daily life for some mammalian species; for example, echolocating microbats and toothed whales use ultrasound for navigation and locating prey, and mice and rats use it for social communication. With more than 1,400 species and the widest frequency range of hearing sensitivities (8 kHz to >200 kHz), bats are ideal species for studying ultrasound perception in mammals.

3. Aging

Although immunosenescence may result in increased morbidity and mortality, many mammals have evolved effective immune coping strategies to extend their lifespans. Thus, the immune systems of long-lived mammals present unique models to study healthy longevity.