Biography

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Dr. Xu obtained Ph.D. at University of Southern California in 2008, where he worked with Dr. Michel Baudry studying the interaction between glutamate receptors and calpain and its implications in brain functions. He then conducted postdoctoral research with Dr. Tom Südhof at HHMI and Stanford University where he started to develop molecular tools for exploring brain circuits and used the tools to address questions related to memory. He joined the department of Neuroscience at UT Southwestern in Dec. 2014.

Dr. Xu is interested in the neuronal mechanisms underlying the basic cognitive processes. He focuses on the circuit level with the goal of bridging cellular and synaptic phenomena to high-level brain functions. The specific questions include the encoding, retrieval and generalization of memories and the brain’s executive control over the selection of behavioral programs. 

Research Interest

  • Brain Connectivity
  • Generalization of memory
  • Neuronal mechanisms underlying psychosis
  • Technology development

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Inhibitory hippocampus-medial septum projection controls locomotion and exploratory behavior.
Chen YT, Arano R, Guo J, Saleem U, Li Y, Xu W, Front Synaptic Neurosci 2023 15 1042858
Dysfunction of parvalbumin neurons in the cerebellar nuclei produces an action tremor.
Zhou M, Melin MD, Xu W, Südhof TC, J Clin Invest 2020 10 130 10 5142-5156
A central amygdala to zona incerta projection is required for acquisition and remote recall of conditioned fear memory.
Zhou M, Liu Z, Melin MD, Ng YH, Xu W, Südhof TC Nat. Neurosci. 2018 Nov 21 11 1515-1519
Postsynaptic synaptotagmins mediate AMPA receptor exocytosis during LTP.
Wu D, Bacaj T, Morishita W, Goswami D, Arendt KL, Xu W, Chen L, Malenka RC, Südhof TC Nature 2017 Mar
Synaptotagmin-1- and Synaptotagmin-7-Dependent Fusion Mechanisms Target Synaptic Vesicles to Kinetically Distinct Endocytic Pathways.
Li YC, Chanaday NL, Xu W, Kavalali ET Neuron 2016 Dec

Books

Featured Books Legend Featured Books

Methods for in vivo Gene Manipulation.. In Charney & Nestler's Neurobiology of Mental Illness (2017)

Monteggia, Lisa M., and Wei Xu. (2017). Oxford University Press

Honors & Awards

  • K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, NIH
    (2013)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2008)
  • Society for Neuroscience (2003)