Chenghua Gu profile picture

Chenghua Gu, Ph.D.

Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Gu Lab Website

Chenghua Gu - Faculty Profile

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Title: Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The Aim

The Gu Lab studies how blood vessels in the brain regulate blood flow and support and protect brain function.

The Impact

We study how blood vessels respond to changes in brain activity and communicate with the immune system to protect the brain. Brain vasculature is a key mediator of brain function, and also serves as a gateway to deliver medicines to the brain. Knowing how the brain’s vasculature works can help identify new ways to deliver medicine to the brain, potentially slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease or preventing infection and stroke.

A Closer Look

Article: How the Brain Increases Blood Flow on Demand (Harvard Medical School, July 2025). Harvard Medical School news article on Gu lab research showing how brain blood vessels use rapid electrical signals to boost blood flow to active regions.

Article: Right Place, Right Time (Harvard Medical School, February 2020). Harvard Medical School news article about Gu lab research uncovering how specialized brain arteries detect nearby neural activity and rapidly increase local blood flow, revealing a key mechanism of neurovascular coupling that links brain function to circulation.

Contact

Email: chenghua_gu@hms.harvard.edu
Lab website: gu.hms.harvard.edu

Publications View
Mfsd2a is critical for the formation and function of the blood-brain barrier.
Authors: Authors: Ben-Zvi A, Lacoste B, Kur E, Andreone BJ, Mayshar Y, Yan H, Gu C.
Nature
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Midbrain dopamine neurons sustain inhibitory transmission using plasma membrane uptake of GABA, not synthesis.
Authors: Authors: Tritsch NX, Oh WJ, Gu C, Sabatini BL.
Elife
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Establishment of neurovascular congruency in the mouse whisker system by an independent patterning mechanism.
Authors: Authors: Oh WJ, Gu C.
Neuron
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The role of semaphorins and their receptors in vascular development and cancer.
Authors: Authors: Gu C, Giraudo E.
Exp Cell Res
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The role and mechanism-of-action of Sema3E and Plexin-D1 in vascular and neural development.
Authors: Authors: Oh WJ, Gu C.
Semin Cell Dev Biol
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Neuroligin-1-dependent competition regulates cortical synaptogenesis and synapse number.
Authors: Authors: Kwon HB, Kozorovitskiy Y, Oh WJ, Peixoto RT, Akhtar N, Saulnier JL, Gu C, Sabatini BL.
Nat Neurosci
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Semaphorin 3E-Plexin-D1 signaling controls pathway-specific synapse formation in the striatum.
Authors: Authors: Ding JB, Oh WJ, Sabatini BL, Gu C.
Nat Neurosci
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Semaphorin 3E-Plexin-D1 signaling regulates VEGF function in developmental angiogenesis via a feedback mechanism.
Authors: Authors: Kim J, Oh WJ, Gaiano N, Yoshida Y, Gu C.
Genes Dev
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VEGF mediates commissural axon chemoattraction through its receptor Flk1.
Authors: Authors: Ruiz de Almodovar C, Fabre PJ, Knevels E, Coulon C, Segura I, Haddick PC, Aerts L, Delattin N, Strasser G, Oh WJ, Lange C, Vinckier S, Haigh J, Fouquet C, Gu C, Alitalo K, Castellani V, Tessier-Lavigne M, Chedotal A, Charron F, Carmeliet P.
Neuron
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Neuropilin 1-Sema signaling regulates crossing of cingulate pioneering axons during development of the corpus callosum.
Authors: Authors: Piper M, Plachez C, Zalucki O, Fothergill T, Goudreau G, Erzurumlu R, Gu C, Richards LJ.
Cereb Cortex
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