Rebecca Zhangqiuzi Fan manages laboratory operations and trains Ph.D. candidates in the Rowan Lab. Her current research utilizes Alzheimer's disease pathology models to study the selective vulnerability of interneurons, alongside other cell types, in neurodegenerative disorders. She combines two-photon and other advanced live-cell imaging systems with electrophysiology and proteomics in both in vitro and in vivo models to understand electrical and chemical signaling changes in healthy and diseased brains.
Fan is a neuroscientist with over 10 years of experience investigating mitochondrial dysfunction and the autophagy-lysosome pathway. Her foundational research demonstrates how dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) dependent mechanisms drive neuroinflammation and protein aggregation. Fan is a co-inventor of a high-throughput screening assay for DRP1 g activity. This technology serves as the foundation for a US patent for novel DRP1 inhibitors.
Areas of Expertise
- Mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics, Seahorse metabolic profiling (XFe96)
- Autophagy-lysosome pathway failure and protein aggregation
- Neuroinflammation in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases
- AAV-mediated CNS gene delivery via stereotaxic microsurgery
- Transgenic mouse colony management
- 3D high-content imaging analysis (Imaris)
Research Interests
- Studying the cell-type-selective vulnerability in models of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders
- Mapping cell-type specific metabolic and proteostatic failure utilizing multi-omics and 3D imaging
Honors & Awards
- Leading abstract at 7th World Parkinson Congress, 2026
- Travel Grant, IAPRD Milan XXI World Congress on Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders, 2015
- Best Poster Prize, St Mellions Research Event, 2014
- National University Students' Creative Research Program Grant, 2011-2012
Committees & Professional Organizations
- Reviewer Board Member, American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences
- Active Peer Reviewer for Springer Nature and other publishers
Education
- Ph.D., Neuroscience/Medical Studies, Plymouth University, UK 2019
- MSc, Nanomedicine, Cranfield University, Bedford, UK 2014
- BE, Bioengineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China 2013