Ching-Kang Jason Chen, Ph.D., FARVO
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Ching-Kang Jason Chen, Ph.D., FARVO
Professor and Alice R. McPherson Retina Research Foundation Endowed Chair
Phone
Phone
Positions
- Professor and Alice R. McPherson Retina Research Foundation Endowed Chair
-
Ophthalmology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US
- Professor
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Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas USA
- Professor
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Neuroscience
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas USA
Addresses
- Neurosensory Center (Office)
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Room: NEUR-C305
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-5459
Ching-Kang.Chen@bcm.edu
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship at California Institute of Technology
- 07/2000 - Pasadena, California United States
- Genetics
- PhD from University of Washington
- 12/1995 - Seattle, Washington United States
- Biochemistry
- MS from National Taiwan University
- 07/1987 - Taipei, Taiwan
- Botany
- BS from Tunghai University
- 06/1985 - Taichung, Taiwan
- Biology
Honors & Awards
- RPB Career Development Award
- 04/2003 - 04/2005
- Scientific Chair
- CSR-BVS study section (10/2013 - 06/2015)
- Dr. Sun Yiet-Sien Scholarship
- Tunghai University (06/1981)
- Chiang-Kai Shek Scholarship
- Tunghai University (06/1985)
- ARVO Silver Fellow
- ARVO (05/2019)
Professional Interests
- Heterotrimeric G-proteins in Vision
- Mechanisms and Consequences of Photoreceptor Degeneration
- Retinal Cell Biology and Circuitry
- Phototransduction
Websites
Selected Publications
- Kiyama T, Chen CK, Wang SW, Pan P, Ju Z, Wang J, Takada S, Klein WH, Mao CA. "Essential roles of mitochondrial biogenesis regulator Nrf1 in retinal development and homeostasis.." Mol Neurodegener. 2018 Oct 17;13(1):56. Pubmed PMID: 30333037
- Kiyama T, Long Y, Chen CK, Whitaker CM, Shay A, Wu H, Badea TC, Mohsenin A, Parker-Thornburg J, Klein WH, Mills SL, Massey SC, Mao CA "Essential Roles of Tbr1 in the Formation and Maintenance of the Orientation-Selective J-RGCs and a Group of OFF-Sustained RGCs in Mouse.." Cell Rep. 2019 Apr 27;27(3):900-915. Pubmed PMID: 30995485
- Tu HY, Chen YJ, McQuiston AR, Chiao CC, Chen CK "A novel retinal oscillation mechanism in an autosomal dominant photoreceptor degeneration mouse model." Front Cell Neurosci. 2016 Jan 12;9:513. Pubmed PMID: 26793064
- Chen CK, Burns ME, Spencer M, Niemi GA, Chen J, Hurley JB, Baylor DA, Simon MI "Abnormal photoresponses and light-induced apoptosis in rods lacking rhodopsin kinase.." PNAS. 1999 Mar;96(7):3718-3722. Pubmed PMID: 10097103
- Chen CK, Woodruff ML, Chen FS, Chen D, Fain GL. 2010 "Background light produces a recoverin-dependent modulation of activated rhodopsin lifetime in mouse rods." J Neurosci. 2010 Dec;30(48):1213-1220. Pubmed PMID: 21123569
- Chen CK, Inglese J, Lefkowitz RJ, Hurley JB "Ca2+-dependent interaction of recoverin with rhodopsin kinase." JBC. 1995 Jul;270(30):18060-18066. Pubmed PMID: 7629115
- Chen CK, Zhang K, Church-Kopish J, Huang W, Zhang H, Chen YJ, Frederick JM, Baehr W "Characterization of human GRK7 as a potential cone opsin kinase.." Mol. Vis.. 2001 Dec;7:305-313. Pubmed PMID: 11754336
- Shim H, Chen YL, Wang CT, Chau VQ, Fu KG, Yang JQ, McQuiston AR, Fisher RA, Chen CK "Defective depolarizing bipolar cells in RGS7 and RGS11 double null mice.." JBC. 2012 Apr;287(18):14873-14879. Pubmed PMID: 22371490
- Chen FS, Shim H, Morhardt D, Dallman R, Krahn E, McWhinney L, Rao A, Gold SJ, Chen CK "Functional redundancy of R7RGS proteins in ON-bipolar cell dendrites." Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010 Feb;51(2):686-693. Pubmed PMID: 19797210
- Rao A, Dallman RD, Henderson SC, Chen CK "Gβ5 is required for normal bipolar cell morphology and function." J Neurosci. 2007 Dec;27(51):14199-14204. Pubmed PMID: 18094259
- Chen CK, Eversole-Cire P, Zhang H, Macino V, Chen YJ, He W, Wensel T, Simon MI "Instability of GGL domain-containing RGS proteins in mice lacking the fifth member of the heterotrimeric G-protein beta subunit G5." PNAS. 2003;100:6604-6609. Pubmed PMID: 12738888
- Zhang H, Huang W, Zhang H, Zhu X, Craft CM, Baehr W, Chen CK "Light-dependent redistribution of visual arrestins and transducin subunits in mice with defective phototransduction.." Mol. Vis.. 2003 Jun;9:231-237. Pubmed PMID: 12802257
- Tian M, Zallocchi M, Wang W, Chen CK, Palczewski K, Delimont D, Cosgrove D, Peng YW. "Light-induced translocation of RGS9-1 and Gβ5L in mouse rod photoreceptors.." PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58832. Pubmed PMID: 23555598
- Lin A, Chen CK, Chen YJ. "Molecular action of tricholin, a ribosome-inactivating protein isolated from Trichoderma viride.." Mol. Microbiol.. 1991 Dec;5(12):3007-3013. Pubmed PMID: 1809839
- Bell KA1, Shim H, Chen CK, McQuiston AR "Nicotinic excitatory postsynaptic potentials in hippocampal CA1 interneurons are predominantly mediated by nicotinic receptors that contain α4 and β2 subunits." Neuropharmacology. 2011 Dec;60:1379-1388. Pubmed PMID: 21878344
- Tu HY, Hsu CC, Chen YJ, Chen CK "Patch Clamp Recording of Starburst Amacrine Cells in a Flat-mount Preparation of Deafferentated Mouse Retina." JoVE. 2016;in press.
- Zhang H, Liu XH, Zhang K, Chen CK, Frederick JM, Prestwich GD, Baehr W "Photoreceptor cGMP phosphodiesterase delta subunit (PDEdelta) functions as a prenyl-binding protein.." JBC. 2004 Jan;207(1):407-413. Pubmed PMID: 14561760
- Chen CK, Hurley JB "Purification of rhodopsin kinase by recoverin affinity chromatography.." Methods Enzymol. 2000;315:404-410. Pubmed PMID: 10736716
- Chen CK "Recoverin and rhodopsin kinase." Adv. Exp. Med. Biol.. 2002;514:101-107. Pubmed PMID: 12596917
- Chen CK, Woodruff ML, Chen FS, Shim H, Cilluffo MC, Fain GL "Replacing the rod with the cone transducin subunit decreases sensitivity and accelerates response decay.." J Physiol. 2010 Sep;588:3231-3241. Pubmed PMID: 20603337
- Tracy CM, Kolesnikov AV, Blake DR, Chen CK, Baehr W, Kefalov VJ, Willardson BM "Retinal cone photoreceptors require phosducin-like protein 1 for G-protein complex assembly and signaling." PLoS One. 2015 Feb;10(2):e0117129. Pubmed PMID: 25659125
- Chen CK "RGS protein regulation of phototransduction." Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2015;133:31-45. Pubmed PMID: 26123301
- Chen CK, Wieland T, Simon MI "RGS-r, a retinal specific RGS protein, binds an intermediate conformation of transducin and enhances recycling." PNAS. 1996;93:12885-12889. Pubmed PMID: 8917514
- Chen CK, Woodruff, M, Fain GL "Rhodopsin kinase and recoverin modulate phosphodiesterase during mouse photoreceptor light adaptation." J Gen Physiol. 2015 Mar;145(3):213-224. Pubmed PMID: 25667411
- Li S, Chen D, Sauve Y, McCandless J, Chen YJ, Chen CK "Rhodopsin-iCre transgenic mouse line for Cre-mediated rod-specific gene targeting." Genesis. 2005;41:73-80. Pubmed PMID: 15682388
- Dizhoor AM, Chen CK, Olshevskaya E, Sinelnikova VV, Phillipov P, Hurley JB. "Role of the acylated amino terminus of recoverin in Ca(2+)-dependent membrane interaction.." Science. 1993 Feb;259(5096):829-832. Pubmed PMID: 8430337
- Baehr W, Chen CK "RP11 and RP13: unexpected gene loci.." Trends Mol Med. 2001 Nov;7(11):484-486. Pubmed PMID: 11689314
- Chen CK, Burns ME, He W, Wensel TG, Baylor DA, Simon MI "Slowed recovery of rod photoresponse in mice lacking the GTPase accelerating protein RGS9-1.." Nature. 2000 Feb;430:557-560. Pubmed PMID: 10676965
- Umino Y, Herrmann R, Chen CK, Barlow RB, Arshavsky VY, Solessio E "The relationship between slow photoresponse recovery rate and temporal resolution of vision.." J Neurosci. 2012 Oct;32(41):14364-14373. Pubmed PMID: 23055507
- Morhardt DR, Guido W, Chen CK "The role of Gbeta5 in vision." Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2009;86:229-248. Pubmed PMID: 20374718
- Chen CK "The vertebrate phototransduction cascade: amplification and termination mechanisms.." Rev Physiol Biochem Pharmacol. 2005;154:101-121. Pubmed PMID: 16634148
- Avasthi P, Watt CB, Williams DS, Le YZ, Li S, Chen CK, Marc RE, Frederick JM, Baehr W "Trafficking of membrane proteins to cone but not rod outer segments is dependent on heterotrimeric kinesin-II.." J Neurosci. 2009 Nov;29(45):14287-14298. Pubmed PMID: 19906976
- Lantz CL, Pulimood NS, Rodriguez WS, Chen CK, Manhaes A, Kalatsky VA, Medina AE "Visual defects in a mouse model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.." Front Pediatr. 2014 Oct;2:107. Pubmed PMID: 25346924
- Krispel CM, Chen D, Melling N, Chen YJ, Martemyanov KA, Quillinan N, Arshavsky VY, Wensel TG, Chen CK, Burns ME "RGS expression sets the duration of signaling in rod photoreceptors.." Neuron. 2006;51:409-416. Pubmed PMID: 16908407
- Kerr A, Patel PA, LaConte LEW, Liang C, Chen CK, Shah V, Fox MA, Mukherjee K "Non-Cell Autonomous Roles for CASK in Optic Nerve Hypoplasia." IOVS. 2019 Aug 1;60(10):3584-3594. Pubmed PMID: 31425583
- Chen CK, Woodruff ML, Chen FS, Chen Y, Tranchina, Fain GL "Modulation of mouse rod response by rhodopsin kinase and recoverin." J Neurosci. 2012 Nov;32(45):15998-15606. Pubmed PMID: 23136436
- Chen CK, Kiyama T, Weber N, Whitaker CM, Pan P, Badea TC, Massey SC, Mao CA "Characterization of Tbr2-expressing retinal ganglion cells.." J Comp Neurol.. 2021 Oct 15;529(15):3513-3532. Pubmed PMID: 34245014
- Chen CK, Tu J, Kuo TT. "A new protein subunit k for RNA polymerase from Xanthomonas campestris pv. oryzae." JBC. 1989 Mar;264(3):4362-4366. Pubmed PMID: 2647734
- Smith TH, Blume, LC, Straiker A, Sayers KW, Poklis JL, Abdullah RA, Cox JO, Chen CK, Mackie K, Elphick MR, Howlett A, Selley DE "Cannabinoid receptor interacting protein 1a (CRIP1a) modulates CB1 receptor signaling and regulation." Mol. Pharmacol.. 2015 Apr;87(4):747-765. Pubmed PMID: 25657338
- Zhang JH1, Pandey M, Seigneur EM, Panicker LM, Koo L, Schwartz OM, Chen W, Chen CK, Simonds WF "Knockout of G protein β5 impairs brain development and causes multiple neurologic abnormalities in mice." J Neurochem. 2011 Nov;(119):544-554. Pubmed PMID: 21883221
- Octeau JC, Schrader JM, Masuho I, Sharma M, Aiudi C, Chen CK, Kovoor A, Celver J "G protein Beta 5 is targeted to d2-dopamine receptor-containing biochemical compartments and blocks dopamine-dependent receptor internalization." PLoS One. 2014 Aug;9(8):e105791. Pubmed PMID: 25162404
- Krahe TE1, Seabrook TA, Chen CK, Fox MA, Guido W "Modulation of CREB in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of dark-reared mice." Neural Plast. 2012 Jan 12;2012:426437. Pubmed PMID: 22292123
- Umino Y, Guo Y, Chen CK, Pasquale R, Solessio E "Rod Photoresponse Kinetics Limit Temporal Contrast Sensitivity in Mesopic Vision.." J Neurosci. 2019 Apr 17;39(16):14364-14373. Pubmed PMID: 30737308
- Barabas P, Liu A, Xing W, Chen CK, Tong Z, Watt CB, Jones BW, Bernstein PS, Križaj D. "Role of ELOVL4 and very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in mouse models of Stargardt type 3 retinal degeneration.." PNAS. 2013 Mar;110(13):5181-5186. Pubmed PMID: 23479632
- Lai CW, Kolesnikov AV, Frederick JM, Blake DR, Jiang L, Stewart JS, Chen CK, Barrow JR, Baehr W, Kefalov VJ, Willardson BM "Phosducin-like protein 1 is essential for G-protein assembly and signaling in retinal rod photoreceptors.." J Neurosci. 2013 May;33(18):7941-7951. Pubmed PMID: 23637185
- Jones BW, Watt CB, Frederick JM, Baehr W, Chen CK, Levine EM, Milam AH, Lavail MM, Marc RE "Retinal remodeling triggered by photoreceptor degenerations.." J Comp Neurol. 2003 Sep;464(1):1-16. Pubmed PMID: 12866125
- Takae Kiyama, Ching-Kang Chen, Annie Zhang, Chai-An Mao "Differential Susceptibility of Retinal Neurons to the Loss of Mitochondrial Biogenesis Factor Nrf1." Cells. 2022 Jul 14;11(14):2203. Pubmed PMID: 35883647
Memberships
- ARVO
- member (01/1993)
- SfN
- member (01/2006)
Funding
- Vision Core Grant - #EY002025 (07/01/2020 - 06/30/2025) Grant funding from NIH
- Small Animal Visual System Analysis Module (SAVSAM)
- Roles of T-box transcriptional regulators in the development of RGC subtypes - #EY024376 (04/01/2021 - 03/31/2025) Affiliate funding from University of Texas Houston Health Science Center
- This subaward will study the diversity and functions of Tbr2-expressing retinal ganglion cells and displaced amacrine cells.
- The role of wide-field amacrine cells in the mammalian retina - #EY034219 (07/01/2022 - 06/30/2027) Grant funding from NIH
- This project determines the function of the trophoblast glycoprotein (TPBG) in the mammalian retina and the role of TH2-AC wide-field amacrine cells in retinal contrast modulation.
- Transducin and Melanopsin independent phototransduction in postnatal retinal development - #EY032898 (09/01/2022 - 06/30/2027) Grant funding from NIH
- This project will determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms of a novel phototransduction pathway in the mammalian retina, as well as its biological function.
Languages
Chinese (Hakka), Chinese (Mandarin), Taiwanese
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