Jia Bei Wang, PhD

20 N. Pine St. Pharmacy Hall Room 415 Baltimore, MD 21201 410-706-6868 - phone 410-706-0346 - fax jwang@rx.umaryland.edu

My research goads, in broad terms, are to understand brain function, the molecular and cellular basis of mental diseases, and the discovery of new medicine and treatment strategies for these diseases. A focal point of that is drug addiction research. Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease. Drug addiction results from adaptations in specific brain neurons caused by repeated exposure to a drug of abuse. These adaptations combined to produce the complex behaviors that define an addicted state. Therefore, to understand the biological basis of drug addiction, genetics and neuroscience are two very important elements. To address on questions concerning the role of opioid receptor phosphorylation in mediating the signal transduction and behavioral effect of morphine and other psychostimulants, we have used variety of molecular, biochemical and pharmacological approaches in my laboratory research. In addition, we also pursue the development and application of new methodologies based on gene targeting technology and transgenic animal models.