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
Guidance from above: common cues direct distinct signaling outcomes in vascular and neural patterning.
Authors: Authors: Gelfand MV, Hong S, Gu C.
Trends Cell Biol
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Guidance of trunk neural crest migration requires neuropilin 2/semaphorin 3F signaling.
Authors: Authors: Gammill LS, Gonzalez C, Gu C, Bronner-Fraser M.
Development
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Distinct roles for secreted semaphorin signaling in spinal motor axon guidance.
Authors: Authors: Huber AB, Kania A, Tran TS, Gu C, De Marco Garcia N, Lieberam I, Johnson D, Jessell TM, Ginty DD, Kolodkin AL.
Neuron
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Peripheral nerve-derived VEGF promotes arterial differentiation via neuropilin 1-mediated positive feedback.
Authors: Authors: Mukouyama YS, Gerber HP, Ferrara N, Gu C, Anderson DJ.
Development
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Semaphorin 3E and plexin-D1 control vascular pattern independently of neuropilins.
Authors: Authors: Gu C, Yoshida Y, Livet J, Reimert DV, Mann F, Merte J, Henderson CE, Jessell TM, Kolodkin AL, Ginty DD.
Science
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Vascular endothelial growth factor controls neuronal migration and cooperates with Sema3A to pattern distinct compartments of the facial nerve.
Authors: Authors: Schwarz Q, Gu C, Fujisawa H, Sabelko K, Gertsenstein M, Nagy A, Taniguchi M, Kolodkin AL, Ginty DD, Shima DT, Ruhrberg C.
Genes Dev
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Neuropilin-1 conveys semaphorin and VEGF signaling during neural and cardiovascular development.
Authors: Authors: Gu C, Rodriguez ER, Reimert DV, Shu T, Fritzsch B, Richards LJ, Kolodkin AL, Ginty DD.
Dev Cell
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Characterization of neuropilin-1 structural features that confer binding to semaphorin 3A and vascular endothelial growth factor 165.
Authors: Authors: Gu C, Limberg BJ, Whitaker GB, Perman B, Leahy DJ, Rosenbaum JS, Ginty DD, Kolodkin AL.
J Biol Chem
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Apoptotic signaling through the beta -adrenergic receptor. A new Gs effector pathway.
Authors: Authors: Gu C, Ma YC, Benjamin J, Littman D, Chao MV, Huang XY.
J Biol Chem
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Oligodendrocyte apoptosis mediated by caspase activation.
Authors: Authors: Gu C, Casaccia-Bonnefil P, Srinivasan A, Chao MV.
J Neurosci
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