Xiaoyun Ding, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

(713) 798-3104

Email

xiaoyun.ding@bcm.edu

Positions

Postdoctoral Associate: Neuroscience
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX, US

Addresses

One Baylor Plaza (Lab): Houston, TX, 77030
United States

Education

PhD from Baylor College of Medicine: 06/2021 - Houston, Texas, United States; Developmental Biology

BSc from Shanghai Jiao Tong University: 07/2016 - Shanghai, China; Biological Sciences

Professional Interests

Neuron-glia interactions
Myelin development and diseases
Neuropsychiatric diseases

Professional Statement

I am a developmental neuroscientist and glial biologist fascinated by how neurons and glia interact to shape CNS development, homeostasis, and disease. The paranodal junction (PNJ), where a myelinating oligodendrocyte physically contacts an axon to form one of the largest intercellular adhesion structures in vertebrates, provides a uniquely well-defined and experimentally tractable system to address these questions. Disruption of the PNJ is a hallmark of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and is increasingly implicated in aging, CNS injury, and psychiatric disorders, yet its molecular composition and regulation remain poorly understood.

My research integrates genetic, molecular, cellular, biochemical, physiological, behavioral, and multi-omic approaches with AAV-mediated in vivo genome editing in transgenic and disease models. Additionally, I take a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, incorporating diverse model organisms and computational methods to address complex biological questions. Ultimately, by uncovering the fundamental biology of axon-glia interactions, I aim to inform future therapeutic strategies for neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Selected Publications

Xiaoyun Ding, Jackson R. Curtis, Yueheng Xing, Yu Wu, Elior Peles, Matthew N. Rasband. " OASIS: in vivo AAV-mediated transduction and genome editing of adult oligodendrocytes " bioRxiv. 2025 Oct 21;
Xiaoyun Ding, Yu Wu, Anna Vainshtein, Victoria Rodriguez, Emily Ricco, James T. Okoh, Yanhong Liu, Daniel C. Kraushaar, Elior Peles, Matthew N. Rasband. " Age-dependent regulation of axoglial interactions and behavior by oligodendrocyte AnkyrinG " Nat Commun. 2024 Dec 30; 15 (1) : 10865.
Xiaoyun Ding, Matthew N Rasband. " Dynorphin, won't you myelinate my neighbor? " Neuron. 2021 Nov 17; 109 (22) : 3537-3539.
Xiaoyun Ding, Juyeon Jo, Chih-Yen Wang, Carlo D Cristobal, Zhongyuan Zuo, Qi Ye, Marvin Wirianto, Aaron Lindeke-Myers, Jong Min Choi, Carrie A Mohila, Hiroshi Kawabe, Sung Yun Jung, Hugo J Bellen, Seung-Hee Yoo, Hyun Kyoung Lee. " The Daam2–VHL–Nedd4 axis governs developmental and regenerative oligodendrocyte differentiation " Genes Dev. 2020 Sep 1; 34 (17-18) : 1177-1189.
Andrew P. Anderson, Sanghyun Kim, Allison J. Melton, Xiaoyun Ding, Wei Zhang, Alexander B. Saltzman, Anna Malovannaya, Matthew N. Rasband, Yudong Gao. " A distinct PP2A subunit regulates local protein phosphorylation at the axon initial segment " Nat Commun. 2025 Dec 3; 16
Wei Zhang, Victoria L. Palfini, Yu Wu, Xiaoyun Ding, Allison J. Melton, Yudong Gao, Yuki Ogawa, Matthew N. Rasband. " A hierarchy of PDZ domain scaffolding proteins clusters the Kv1 K+ channel protein complex at the axon initial segment " Sci Adv. 2025 May 23; 11 (21) : eadv1281.
Gabriel Escobedo Jr, Yu Wu, Yuki Ogawa, Xiaoyun Ding, Matthew N Rasband. " An evolutionarily conserved AnkyrinG-dependent motif clusters axonal K2P K+ channels " J Cell Biol.. 2024 Oct 7; 223 (10)
Ozlem Sert, Xiaoyun Ding, Chuansheng Zhang, Ruifa Mi, Ahmet Hoke, Matthew N Rasband. " Postsynaptic β1 spectrin maintains Na+ channels at the neuromuscular junction " J Phisiol.. 2024 Mar ; 602 (6) : 1127-1145.
Wei Zhang, Yu Fu, Luxin Peng, Yuki Ogawa, Xiaoyun Ding, Anne Rasband, Xinyue Zhou, Maya Shelly, Matthew N Rasband, Peng Zou. " Immunoproximity biotinylation reveals the axon initial segment proteome " Nat Commun. 2023 Dec 11; 14
Feiyan Mo, Norihiro Watanabe, Kayleigh I. Omdahl, Phillip M. Burkhardt, Xiaoyun Ding, Eiko Hayase, Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari, Robert R. Jenq, Helen E. Heslop, Leslie S. Kean, Malcolm K. Brenner, Victor Tkachev, Maksim Mamonkin. " Engineering T cells to suppress acute GVHD and leukemia relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation " Blood. 2023 Mar 9; 141 (10) : 1194-1208.
Carlo D. Cristobal, Qi Ye, Juyeon Jo, Xiaoyun Ding, Chih-Yen Wang, Diego Cortes, Zheng Chen, Hyun Kyoung Lee. " Daam2 couples translocation and clustering of Wnt receptor signalosomes through Rac1. " J Cell Sci. 2021 Jan 25; 134 (2)
Brendan Puls, Yan Ding, Fengyu Zhang, Mengjie Pan, Zhuofan Lei, Zifei Pei, Mei Jiang, Yuting Bai, Cody Forsyth, Morgan Metzger, Tanvi Rana, Lei Zhang, Xiaoyun Ding, Matthew Keefe, Alice Cai, Austin Redilla, Michael Lai, Kevin He, Hedong Li, Gong Chen. " Regeneration of Functional Neurons After Spinal Cord Injury via in situ NeuroD1-Mediated Astrocyte-to-Neuron Conversion. " Front Cell Dev Biol. 2020 Dec 16;

Memberships

Society for Neuroscience: Member (05/2025)

American Society for Neurochemistry: Student Member (02/2019)

International Society for Neurochemistry: Student Member (02/2019)

Society for Developmental Biology: Student Member (09/2017)

Funding

Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) #1K99EY037780-01: (04/15/2026 - 03/31/2031); National Institute of Health

Career Transition Fellowship #NMSS-TA-2403-42997: (07/01/2025 - 04/15/2026); National Multiple Sclerosis Society