Dr. Yanhua Xie is also known as Jennifer Xie, the name she uses for almost all her publications. Dr. Xie received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Arizona in 2005 while working under the guidance of Dr. Frank Porreca, a world-renowned pain scientist, at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Tucson. She then received post-doc training in Parkinson’s Disease at the University of Arizona under the guidance of Dr. Scott Sherman. Afterwards, she worked for a Canadian biotech company, Neuromed Pharmaceuticals, for the discovery of new drugs, and then continued doing research at Dr. Frank Porreca group at the University of Arizona.

In 2017, Dr. Xie joined NYITCOM @ Arkansas campus. Besides teaching Neuroscience/Neuroanatomy, she has been collaborating with multiple professors at New York Tech, as well as externally within the Arkansas State and outside the State ever since.

Dr. Xie runs a vibrant research laboratory with students from both NYITCOM and Arkansas State University campuses, including the surrounding areas. Her research is supported by federal grant agencies related to the following areas:

• Identifying new therapies, especially non-opioid molecules acting on novel targets, to relieve chronic pain in humans via preclinical tools in a wide variety of rodent pain models
• Elucidating the underlying mechanisms of the sensory and affective aspects of cephalic, neuropathic, inflammatory or cancer pain states and the potential mechanisms through which complementary therapies such as osteopathic manipulative treatments (OMT) relieve chronic pain
• Exploring new cell-based therapies, especially stem cells and their exosomes, to promote neuroregeneration and functional recovery after peripheral or central nervous system injuries

Recent Publications

• Pahan P, Xie JY, Microglial inflammation modulates opioid analgesic tolerance, Journal of Neuroscience Research, in press
Ramsey A, Akana L, Miyajima E, Gray J, Rowland A, Sharma KD, Xu J, Xie JY, Zhou G. CAP1 (Cyclase-Associated Protein 1) mediates cyclic AMP signals to activate Rap1 and stimulate matrix adhesion in colon cancer cells. Cellular Signaling Jan 5;104:110589, 2023.
• Westlake S, Jones M, Sharma KD, Xie JY, Letters to the Editor: Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Ligands as Potential Targets for Managing Neuropathic Pain Induced by Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy, eNeurologicalSci, Jul 2;28:100416, 2022
• Sharma KD, Pandanaboina SC, Srivatsan M, Xie JY, Predominant differentiation of rat embryonic neural stem cells into functional oligodendrocytes. Neuroscience Letters, in press
• Sharma KD, Schaal D, Kore RA, Hamzah RN, Pandanaboina SC, Hayar A, Griffin RJ, Srivatsan M, Reyna NS, Xie JY, Glioma-derived exosomes drive the differentiation of neural stem cells to astrocytes. PLOS ONE, in press
• Chen Y, Moutal A, Navratilova E, Kopruszinski C, Yue X, Ikegami M, Chow M, Kanazawa L, Bellampalli SS, Xie J, Patwardhan A, Rice KC, Fields HL, Akopian A, Neugebauer V, Dodick D, Khanna R and Porreca F, A novel prolactin-mediated mechanism of nociceptor sensitization and opioid-induced hyperalgesia in females. Science Translational Medicine, 2020 Feb 5;12(529). pii: eaay7550.
• Zhang H, Ramsey A, Xiao Y, Karki U, Xie JY, Xu J, Kelly T, Ono S, and Zhou G,  Dynamic phosphorylation and dephosphorylation 1 of CAP1 (Cyclase-Associated Protein 1) by antagonistic signaling through CDK5 and cAMP are critical for the protein functions in actin filament disassembly and cell adhesion. Molecular and Cellular Biology (cover story), 2020 Jan 30;40(4). pii: e00282-19
• Xie JY, De Felice M, Kopruszinski CM, Eyde N, LaVigne J, Remeniuk B, Hernandez P, Yue X, Goshima N, Ossipov M, King T, Streicher JM, Navratilova E, Dodick D, Rosen H, Roberts E, and Porreca F, Kappa opioid receptor antagonists: a possible new class of therapeutics for migraine prevention. Cephalalgia, 37(8):780-794, 2017
• Xie JY, Chew LA, Yang X, Wang Y, Qu C, Wang Y, Federici LM, Fitz SD, Ripsch MS, Due MR, Moutal A, Khanna M, White FA, Vanderah TW, Johnson PL, Porreca F, and Khanna R, Sustained relief of ongoing experimental neuropathic pain by a CRMP2 peptide aptamer with low abuse potential, Pain, 157(9):2124-40, 2016
• Xie JY, Qu C, Patwardhan A, Ossipov MH, Navratilova E, Becerra L, Borsook D and Porreca F, Activation of mesocorticolimbic reward circuits for assessment of relief of ongoing pain: a potential biomarker of efficacy, Pain, 155 (8):1659-1666, 2014.
• Navratilova E*, Xie JY* (co-first author), Okun A, Qu C, Eyde N, Ci S, Ossipov MH, King T, Fields HL and Porreca F, Pain relief produces negative reinforcement through activation of mesolimbic reward-valuation circuitry, PNAS, 109:20709-13, 2012.

Contact Info

• Jennifer.Xie@nyit.edu