I was a Ph.D. student in cognitive neuroscience (2015.04~2019.03). I studied in the Department of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine III Unit. My graduate work has been focused on using fMRI to investigate the associations between functional brain alterations (e.g., brain signal complexity, functional connectivity, and functional network integration) and the susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders. Under the supervision of Prof. Shuhei Yamaguchi and Dr. Keiichi Onoda, I worked on three different studies which highlighted how one of the core brain regions, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), plays a critical role in human cognitive and affective processing. Specifically, we found that: (a) Decreased brain signal complexity in the rostral ACC area increased the risk of progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease by up to 5.1 times; (b) Decreased strength of functional connectivity between the salience network and subgenual ACC and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is associated with the serotonin-1A receptor (rs6295) G allele, a putative risk factor for affective disorders; (c) Modulating the dorsal ACC neural network could potentially mediate changes from a negative to a positive mood state via theta band transcranial alternating current stimulation.
   After I graduated from Shimane University, I joined the Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA as a postdoc researcher and research associate (2019.04~2021.12). I just accepted a tenure-track position as an Associate Investigator (Assistant Professor) offered by the Laureate Institute for Brain Research which will start in 2022.01. My research leverages neuroimaging, peripheral biomarkers, and neuroscientific approaches to advance the understanding of the neuropathology of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) with a long-term aim of developing actionable prevention and intervention strategies. The primary focus of my postdoctoral research is to examine viral infection-associated neuropathological alterations in the context of depression. My research in this regard has demonstrated a replicable chronic human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection-associated reduction in (a) brain gray matter volume, (b) white matter integrity, and (c) resting-state functional connectivity in neural circuits that are important for MDD. These findings raise the possibility that CMV infection may be a treatable source of structural and functional brain abnormalities in a subset of depressed patients. It also highlights an avenue of future research that could potentially validate the proposed mechanistic link between latent viral infection and brain changes in depression.
   During the years I was in Shimane University, I gained specific training in neuroscience and neuroimaging. As a result of my graduate training, I had experience with data collection, preprocessing, and statistical analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), resting-state and task-based functional MRI, as well as MATLAB programming. These experiences and training laid a solid foundation for me to further develop my research skills which empowered me to address my research questions.
   As a student at Shimane University, Faculty of Medicine, you may be trained to be a physician, or you may want to pursue an academic career. If your career direction is in academia, please make sure you learn statistics because regardless of your research field or interest, scientific work is about testing the hypothesis and making inferences out of the data you collected and ultimately moving the theory forward. Statistics is the most valuable skill throughout a research career. The second piece of advice I would give is to cherish the time while you were in Izumo, Shimane, Japan. I grew up in China, studied in Japan, and am now working in the United States. I love all these countries for different reasons, but Japan is definitely a special one to me. When I was a Ph.D. student there, I was blessed with wonderful mentors Prof. Yamaguchi and Dr. Onoda who supported me in any way possible both academically and personally. I was lucky enough to meet a group of amazing friends inside and outside of campus who were truly happy for my accomplishments and were always there for me whenever I needed them. I miss the food (Wagyu, crab, and the fruits), the nature of all seasons…Most of all, I miss the people I met in Shimane. 

by HAIXIA ZHENG, December 2021