BUILD Mentor Spotlight for April 2019: Dr. Houng-Wei Tsai
Dr. Houng-Wei Tsai
Associate Professor
Department: Biological Sciences
College: Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Research Areas: Brain sexual differentiation
Mentor Directory Profile
My Career Path
I have been working within the field of neuroendocrinology, the study of interactions between the nervous and endocrine systems, for almost 30 years. As an occupational therapy major in Taiwan, I was fascinated by the complexity of the human brain and its dysfunction linked to neurological disorders and mental illness.
Despite my lack of experience, I decided to follow my passion for neuroscience research immediately after earning a bachelor's degree in occupational therapy and started my research career as a graduate student at National Taiwan University (M.S. in Physiology, 1989-1991), where I studied the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of aging on reproductive behavior and MPTP-induced locomotor impairment in male rats.
Later on, I came to the United States to continue my graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (M.S. in Anatomy & Cell Biology, 1993-1996) and then the University of Kentucky (Ph.D. in Physiology, 1996-2001). Much of my graduate work at both schools focused on the interplay and feedback between the nervous system and sex steroids involved in the regulation of female reproductive function and behavior.
After receiving my doctoral degree in Kentucky, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Virginia (2001-2009), shifting my attention to investigate how ligand-independent transcriptional activation and proteasome-mediated degradation of estrogen receptors are coupled functionally and how sex steroids and their receptors involve epigenetic regulation of brain sexual differentiation via histone modifications.
I am incredibly fortunate to have had amazing mentors, who have guided and inspired me throughout the process.
Besides my passion for research and knowledge, I also realized my love for exchanging knowledge with students, aiding them in developing their own research ideas and goals, and helping to shape the next generation of scholars and leaders after being a visiting faculty at Washington and Lee University (2008-2009). From that point forward, I decided to pursue a career in academia and was fortunate enough to obtain my current faculty position in physiology at California State University Long Beach, where I greatly enjoy my job every day because it is challenging, creative, and stimulating.
Why My Research Is Exciting
Our research interest focuses on understanding the molecular and neural mechanisms underlying sexual dimorphism in brain structure and function. Our lab has employed a wide variety of molecular biology tools and techniques to identify and profile a list of genes differentially expressed in the developing cortex and hippocampus between male and female mice. In addition, using genetically mutated and hormonally manipulated mouse models, we are further investigating how sex steroids may act on their receptors to control the sex-specific expression of these genes.
Recently, we have begun to explore how these genes function to control the development of neural structures and circuits responsible for behavioral differences between the sexes. Our findings have laid a solid foundation to move the studies of brain sexual differentiation past the “black box” of steroid receptor actions into the modern age of post-genomics and provide new and important information to bridge the gap between steroid receptor action and brain sexual differentiation.
Brain sexual differentiation has a significant impact on human health throughout life. Not only are gender differences well known in normal brain structure and function, but also in susceptibility to neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. Therefore, clarification of the molecular and neural mechanisms underlying brain sexual differentiation will advance our understanding and knowledge of the pathophysiology of sex-biased diseases and open new therapeutic avenues for those disorders.
What You Should Know About My Research
Like many scientists, I always look forward to the challenges that research offers. With broad research trainings ranging from the level of molecular biology to integrative and systems neuroscience, to behavioral physiology, I consider myself a "bridge scientist" who is not bound by traditional paradigms and can offer new insights into different problems to keep neuroendocrinology vital and cutting-edge.
In addition, I am committed to high-quality undergraduate and graduate education by establishing an active program of research and scholarship, in which I incorporate insights from my research into instructional activities, student advising, and related work to enliven and enrich my teaching and the student experience.
I have always believed that deep approaches to learning through research activities encourage students to process information in ways that help them better understand and appreciate the merits of data-based claims and the persuasiveness of logic-based arguments.
How BUILD Trainees Have Contributed to My Research
Together with graduate students and other undergraduates, BUILD trainees have played an important role in helping me with my scholarly activities and research projects on a regular basis. They always love to be at the bench, reviewing scientific literature, learning new techniques, doing experiments, and analyzing data.
The active participation and enthusiasm of these unsung heroes move our research forward. Students often curiously ask questions and raise issues, some of which I might never have considered on my own. This helps me discover things that I may not have previously thought of and inspires me to delve more deeply into our research.
Lastly, mentoring students in research has become an invaluable source of motivation for teaching and research. I see how these experiences have become a crucial component in shaping students’ academic identities as intellectuals when they pursue scholarly endeavors.
How BUILD Has Contributed to My Research and Career
Besides supplemental funding for faculty-mentored, student-based research, the BUILD program has offered seed funding that provides us with continuing resources to fill the gap in external funding for ongoing research projects and enables us to develop new pilot research directions in brain sexual differentiation. To improve and maintain our research infrastructure, the BUILD program has also provided support for us to acquire shared-use research instrumentation for histological and digital microscopy imaging and behavioral monitoring in lab animals.
Additionally, BUILD travel funds allow me to present our research to the scientific community at national and international conferences, which is an important venue for brainstorming, networking and making vital connections to drive my research and career.
Other than funding, the BUILD program has greatly supported my professional growth and career development with a unique educational community and workshops to help broaden my knowledge, deepen my understanding, and strengthen my practice in mentoring, instruction, and learning.
The program has also encouraged and promoted cross-disciplinary networking and connections, which not only increases the awareness of available research resources at CSULB, but also fosters scientific collaboration between my lab and other CSULB faculty.
