Joined OCC in 2021
Research Project
My PhD project is focused on the investigation of sex differences in peripheral and spinal signaling pathways and changes in supraspinal networks relevant for pain-related behaviors following acute incisional and chronic neuropathic pain in mice. We propose a unique approach by combining a versatile set of behavioral outcomes, precise spatiotemporal optogenetic probing, supraspinal fMRI-based network analysis, as well as multiple in vitro assays to probe functional changes in a subset of spinal inhibitory neurons after both injuries.
Lots of evidences showed that male and female have different pain processing and expression due to distinct psychological, biological and social factors. However, the pain literature is indeed male-biased. Thus, we expect to describe sex differences longitudinally in distinct pain-related behaviors, the contribution of spinal GABAergic neurons, and changes in the supraspinal connectomes after INC and SNI in mice. Results from this project will serve as a basis for future project proposals (ERC and DFG) further investigating sex-specific mechanisms of acute and chronic pain.
PhD Committee
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Cornelius Faber
Prof. Dr. med. Esther Pogatzki-Zahn
Prof. Dr. Helene Richter
Publications
Hsin-Yi Lai, Lun-De Liao, Chin-Teng Lin, Jui-Hsiang Hsu, Xin He, You-Yin Chen, Jyh-Yeong Chang, Hui-Fen Chen, Siny Tsang and Yen-Yu I Shih. Design, simulation and experimental validation of a novel flexible neural probe for deep brain stimulation and multichannel recording. J Neural Eng. 2012 Jun;9(3):036001
Conference Contributions
Szu-Ming Chen, Ming-Shiuan Chiue, Hui-Fen Chen, Jyh-Horng Chen and Ruey-Shyang Hseu. The effects of ganoderma lucidum on the cerebral blood flow and neurotransmitters in Alzheimimer’s disease rat model. The XXVth ICMRBS, 2012.
Yun-An Huang, Hui-Fen Chen, Ming-Shiuan Chiueh, Edzer L. Wu, Meng-Chi Hsieh, Tzi-Dar Chiueh, and Jyh-Horng Chen. 3D high resolution T2 and T2* rat brain imaging using Wideband MRI technique. The 21th ISMRM, 2013.
Hui-Fen Chen, Anna Fejtova, Seda Salar. The effect of C-terminal binding protein 1 deletion on excitatory synaptic transmission in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. The 7th International IZKF-Symposium, 2019.
CV
| *1984 | Taipei, Taiwan |
| 2002–2006 | Bachelor B.Sc. in Entomology at the National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan |
| 2007-2008 | Research assistant, Graduate Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan |
| 2008-2009 | Research assistant, Institute of Pharmacology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan |
| 2009-2010 | Research assistant, Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan |
| 2011-2014 | Assistant technician, 7T Animal MRI Core Lab of Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan |
| 2015-2018 | M.Sc. in Developmental, Neural and Behavioral Biology at the University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany |
| 2018 | Student assistant, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen |
| 2019 | Beginning of PhD research project, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen |
| 2020 | PhD student at the University of Münster |