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Hermes Hsiao-Mei Yeh, PhD

Contact Information

Professional Interests

Neurotransmitter Interactions and their Plasticity in the Adult and Developing Brain: Nature and Nurture

Research in my laboratory combines neuroanatomical, electrophysiological, molecular and behavioral approaches to study in the adult and developing brain the plasticity of neurotransmitter receptors, synaptic transmission, neurocircuits, neurobehavior, as well as the cellular and molecular underpinnings of coordinated adaptive changes in neuronal function, morphology, gene and protein expression. A major focus of ongoing research projects employs transgenic mouse models, including a mouse model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), to investigate: (1) the cellular and molecular signaling mechanisms underlying the regulation of neuronal migration in the embryonic cerebral cortex and striatum by developmental neurotransmitters, such as GABA; (2) how maternal consumption of alcohol and exposure of the fetal brain to alcohol exert adverse influences on the migration of cortical neurons in the short term, as well as long-term influences on the morphological and functional development of inhibitory and excitatory synaptic balance, and neurobehavior, in immature and adult neural circuits; (3) how the short-term and long-term aberrances as the result of prenatal alcohol exposure can be mitigated in our preclinical model of FASD. In addition to shedding light on our understanding of the etiology of FASD, our work has unifying implications insofar as the insights gained from this line of interrogation may be applicable toward understanding the pathoetiology of other neurodevelopmental brain disorders, notably autism and ADHD.
I have taught actively in the medical school and graduate school curricula, and have had leadership roles in directing graduate education and training at the institutional and national levels.

Rotations and Thesis Projects

Graduate students are encouraged to explore, develop and elaborate on their own research interests and directions. All laboratory rotation and thesis projects reflect the multidisciplinary approach taken in my laboratory. For rotations, the nature of the projects are necessarily of more limited scope - students can expect to conduct focused short-term hypothesis-driven projects.
Some examples of rotation projects:
1. Does maternal binge drinking of ethanol early in pregnancy affect the development of radial glial cells in the developing cerebral cortex of the fetus?
2. What is the expression profile of GABAA receptor subunits in GABAergic cortical interneuronal subpopulations and how are they affected by ethanol exposure?
3. Does prenatal ethanol exposure differentially affect the radial migration of pyramidal neuronal subtypes?
4. Does prenatal ethanol exposure affect differentially the migration of GABAergic interneurons of different embryonic origins?
5. Does ethanol affect cytoskeleton dynamics in migrating cortical neurons?

Interested students are encouraged to meet with Dr. Yeh and discuss rotation projects tailored to their interests.

Grant Information

RO1 AA023410, Yeh, Hermes H. (PI)
NIH/NIAAA
"Ethanol Exposure In Utero and Interneuronopathy in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex"

3R01AA023410-04S1, Yeh, Hermes H. (PI)
NIH/NIAAA

1R01 AA027754-01, Yeh, Hermes H. (PI)
NIH/NIAAA
Title: The chloride cotransporter NKCC1 in the embryonic etiology and treatment of FASD

F30 AA025534-01, Laurie C. Delatour, PI; Yeh, Hermes H., Sponsor
NIH/NIAAA
"Ethanol exposure in utero: effects on radial migration, form, and function of pyramidal neurons in the somatosensory cortex"

F31 AA027694-01, Stephanie M. Lee, PI; Hermes H., Sponsor
NIH/NIAAA
Ethanol, chloride, calcium and growth cone dynamics in embryonic GABAergic interneurons.

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Courses Taught

Medical Human Gross Anatomy (U. Rochester Sch. Med.) 1984-1992
Neurobiology for undergraduate neuroscience majors (U. Rochester) 1989-1991
Experimental Neuroscience (U. Rochester Sch. Med.) 1988-1990
Medical Physiology (1st. yr Med. Sch., Bowman Gray Sch. Med.) 1993-1995
Medical Pharmacology (2nd. yr Med. Sch., Bowman Gray Sch. Med.) 1994-1995
Developmental Neuroscience (Bowman Gray Sch. Med.) 1992-1995
Advanced Physiology for graduate students (Bowman Gray) 1992-1995
Neuroscience Special Topics Tutorial (Bowman Gray Sch. Med.) 1992-1995
Integrative Graduate Neuroscience (Bowman Gray Sch. Med.) 1992-1995
Mechanisms of Disease, (2nd yr. Med. Sch., UCHC) 1995-1999
Section Leader: Diseases of the Nervous System 1997-1999
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (Grad. Sch., UCHC) 1996-2000
Systems Neuroscience (Grad. Sch., UCHC) 1996-2000
Pharmacology Core Course (Grad. Sch., UCHC) 1996-2000
Cellular Neuroscience (Grad. Sch., U. Rochester SMD), Coordinator, Section on Developmental Neuroscience 2000-2005
Ethics and Professional Integrity (U. Rochester SMD), Co-Director 2000-2005
PBL, Humans Structure and Function (1st. yr. SMD), U. Rochester 2001-2005
PBL, Mechanisms of Drug Action (2nd. Yr. SMD), U. Rochester 2000-2005
Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine Core Course, DMS 2006-
Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine PEMM 271, DMS 2008-
Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine Neuroscience II 2012-