Personal Profile
Ding Ying, M.D., is a supervisor for master's and doctoral students. Currently, she serves as the Secretary of the Party Branch of Teachers and Students in the Histology, Embryology and Cell Biology Department of the School of Basic Medical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, the Director of the Department of Histology and Embryology, and the Director of the Morphology Laboratory of the Experimental Teaching Center of Basic Medicine. From 2015 to 2016, she worked as a visiting scholar at the Neuroscience Research Center of the Indiana University School of Medicine in the United States.
As the principal investigator, she has been awarded multiple grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province. As a major collaborator, she has participated in several projects, including major and key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and key research and development projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology. She has won the Second Prize of the Natural Science Award of Guangdong Province (ranked second). She has published more than 60 related academic papers, among which 40 are included in SCI-indexed journals.

Research Directions

1. Mechanistic research on the transplantation of stem cell-derived neural tissues combined with electrical stimulation/electroacupuncture for the repair of spinal cord injury.
2. Mechanistic research on the bridging repair of peripheral nerve defects with biomaterials loaded with stem cells combined with electrical stimulation.

Academic Achievements
Scientific research projects presided over in the past five years:

1. General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 82074528. Research on the mechanism of electroacupuncture regulating A2 astrocytes to promote the formation of synapses between neurons derived from transplanted neural stem cells (NSCs) and neurons in the injured spinal cord. From January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2024, with a funding of 550,000 yuan, presided over.
2. General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 81774397. Research on electroacupuncture promoting the survival and functional integration of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived neural networks transplanted into the injured spinal cord through NT-3-mediated inflammation regulation. From January 2018 to December 2021, with a funding of 600,000 yuan, presided over.
3. General Program of the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, 2023A1515012211. Research on the mechanism of electroacupuncture regulating excitatory intrinsic neurons in the injured spinal cord to integrate with the transplanted NSC-derived neural network and promote the repair of spinal cord neural circuits. From January 2023 to December 2025, with a funding of 100,000 yuan, presided over.
4. Free Application Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, 2017A030313674. Research on the mechanism of Du Meridian electroacupuncture combined with the transplantation of TrkC-MSCs to synergistically inhibit the inflammatory response and promote nerve regeneration in the injured spinal cord. From October 2017 to October 2020, with a funding of 100,000 yuan, presided over.
5. National Key Research and Development Program Project, 2017YFA0104702. Basic and clinical research on the repair of peripheral nerve defects with neural tissue modules derived from mesenchymal stem cells. From July 2017 to December 2022, with a total funding of 6.89 million yuan, participated (allocated 900,000 yuan).
6. Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 81330028. Research on the mechanism of transplantation of stem cell-derived neural network scaffolds for the repair of damaged neural networks in the spinal cord. From January 2014 to December 2018, with a funding of 2.8 million yuan, participated (ranked third).

7. Free Application Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, 2014A030313122. Research on the mechanism of Du Meridian electroacupuncture promoting the integration of the transplanted MSC-derived neural network with the damaged spinal cord neural network. From January 2015 to January 2018, with a funding of 100,000 yuan, presided over.

    

Articles published in the past five years (# first author; * corresponding author):

1. Ding Y*, Li G*, Zhang P and Zhang W (2023) Editorial: New advances in functional rehabilitation after central and peripheral nervous system injury. Front. Neurol. 14:1160382. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1160382
2. Xiao X#, Deng Q#, Zeng X, Lai BQ, Ma YH, Li G, Zeng YS, Ding Y*. Transcription Profiling of a Revealed the Potential Molecular Mechanism of Governor Vessel Electroacupuncture for Spinal Cord Injury in Rats. Neurospine. 2022, 19(3):757-769.
3. Pei W, Meng F, Deng Q, Zhang B, Gu Y, Jiao B, Xu H, Tang J, Zhou X, Li Z, He G, Ruan JW*, Ding Y*. Electroacupuncture promotes the survival and synaptic plasticity of hippocampal neurons and improvement of sleep deprivation-induced spatial memory impairment. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2021, 27(12):1472-1482.
4. Yang Y#, Xu HY#, Deng QW, Wu GH, Zeng X, Jin H, Wang LJ, Lai BQ, Li G, Ma YH, Jiang B, Ruan JW, Wang YQ, Ding Y*, Zeng YS*. Electroacupuncture facilitates the integration of a grafted TrkC-modified mesenchymal stem cell-derived neural network into transected spinal cord in rats via increasing neurotrophin-3. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2021, 27(7): 776-791.
5. Xu H#, Yang Y#, Deng QW, Zhang BB, Ruan JW, Jin H, Wang JH, Ren J, Jiang B, Sun JH, Zeng YS*, Ding Y*. Governor Vessel electro-acupuncture promotes the intrinsic growth ability of spinal neurons through activating CGRP/αCaMKII/NT-3 pathway after spinal cord injury. Journal of Neurotrauma, 2021, 38(6):734-745.
6. Jin H#, Zhang YT#, Yang Y, Wen LY, Wang JH, Xu HY, Lai BQ, Feng B, Che MT, Qiu XC, Li ZL, Wang LJ, Ruan JW, Jiang B, Zeng X, Deng QW, Li G, Ding Y*, Zeng YS*. Electroacupuncture Facilitates the Integration of Neural Stem Cell-Derived Neural Network with Transected Rat Spinal Cord. Stem Cell Reports. 2019, 12(2):274-289.
7. Al-Ali H#, Ding Y#, Slepak T#, Wu W, Sun Y, Martinez Y, Xu XM, Lemmon VP, Bixby JL. The mTOR substrate S6 Kinase 1 (S6K1) is a negative regulator of axon regeneration and a potential drug target for Central Nervous System injury. J Neurosci. 2017, 37(30):7079-7095.
8. Zhang YT, Jin H, Wang JH, Wen LY, Yang Y, Ruan JW, Zhang SX, Ling EA, Ding Y*, Zeng YS*. Tail Nerve Electrical Stimulation and Electro-Acupuncture Can Protect Spinal Motor Neurons and Alleviate Muscle Atrophy after Spinal Cord Transection in Rats. Neural Plast. 2017;2017:7351238.
9. Yang XH#, Ding Y(co-first author)#, Li W, Zhang RY, Wu JL, Ling EA, Wu W*, Zeng YS*, Effects of electroacupuncture and the retinoid X receptor (RXR) signalling pathway on oligodendrocyte differentiation in the demyelinated spinal cord of rats, Acupuncture in Medicine, 2017, 35(2):122-132.
10. Ding Y(first author)#, Zhang RY#, He B#, Liu Z, Zhang K, Ruan JW, Ling EA, Wu JL, Zeng YS. Combination of electroacupuncture and grafted mesenchymal stem cells overexpressing TrkC improves remyelination and function in demyelinated spinal cord of rats. Sci Rep. 2015, 5:9133.
11. Wang Junhua, Ding Ying (corresponding author), Zeng Yuanshan. NT-3 promotes the polarization of M1 macrophages induced by lipopolysaccharide towards the M2 phenotype. Anatomical Research, 2018, 40(1): 23-26.
12. Zhang Baobao, Cen Xiaoqing, Zeng Yuanshan, Ding Ying (corresponding author). Anatomical location of the cell bodies of long descending spinal intrinsic neurons and their axonal projections in SD rats localized by neural tracing. Anatomical Research, 2021, 43(1): 1-6.
13. Peng Lizhi, Wei Qingshuai, Ma Yuanhuan, Xu Jinhai, Jiang Bin, Zeng Yuanshan, Zeng Xiang, Ding Ying (corresponding author)*. Construction of an iPSC-derived inhibitory neural network tissue with synaptic transmission potential. Acta Universitatis Sunyatseni (Medical Sciences). 2023, 44(1): 18-25
14. Zeng YS, Ding Y, Xu HY, Zeng X, Lai BQ, Li G, Ma YH. Electro-acupuncture and its combination with adult stem cell transplantation for spinal cord injury treatment: A summary of current laboratory findings and a review of literature. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2022, 28(5): 635-647.
15. Lai Biqin#, Wu Rongjie#, Han Weitao#, Bai YR, Liu JL, Yu HY, Yang SB, Wang LJ, Ren JL, Ding Y, Li G, Zeng X, Ma YH, Quan Q, Xing LY, Jiang B, Wang YQ, Zhang L, Chen ZH, Zhang HB, Chen YF, Zheng QJ, Zeng YS*. Tail nerve electrical stimulation promoted the efficiency of transplanted spinal cord-like tissue as a neuronal relay to repair the motor function of rats with transected spinal cord injury. Biomaterials 2023, 297, 122103.
16. Lai BQ, Zeng X, Han WT, Che MT, Ding Y, Li G, Zeng YS. Stem cell-derived neuronal relay strategies and functional electrical stimulation for treatment of spinal cord injury. Biomaterials, 2021 Dec;279:121211.
17. Li G, Zhang B, Sun JH, Shi LY, Huang MY, Huang LJ, Lin ZJ, Lin QY, Lai BQ, Ma YH, Jiang B, Ding Y, Zhang HB, Li MX, Zhu P, Wang YQ, Zeng X, Zeng YS. An NT-3-releasing bioscaffold supports the formation of TrkC-modified neural stem cell-derived neural network tissue with efficacy in repairing spinal cord injury. Bioactive Materials, 2021, 6:3766-3781.
18. Ma YH, Shi HJ, Wei QS, Deng QW, Sun JH, Liu Z, Lai BQ, Li G, Ding Y, Niu WT, Zeng YS, Zeng X. Developing a mechanically matched decellularized spinal cord scaffold for the in situ matrix-based neural repair of spinal cord injury. Biomaterials, 2021, 279:121192
19. Bai YR, Lai BQ, Han WT, Sun JH, Li G, Ding Y, Zeng X, Ma YH, Zeng YS. Decellularized optic nerve functional scaffold transplant facilitates directional axon regeneration and remyelination in the injured white matter of the rat spinal cord. Neural Regen Res. 2021 Nov;16(11):2276-2283. 
20. Lai BQ, Bai YR, Han WT, Zhang B, Liu S, Sun JH, Liu JL, Li G, Zeng X, Ding Y, Ma YH, Zhang L, Chen ZH, Wang J, Xiong Y, Wu JH, Qi Q, Xing LY, Zhang HB, Zeng YS. Construction of a niche-specific spinal white matter-like tissue to promote directional axon regeneration and myelination for rat spinal cord injury repair. Bioactive Materials, 2021, Oct 20;11:15-31.
21. Lai BQ, Che MT, Feng B, Bai YR, Li G, Ma YH, Wang LJ, Huang MY, Wang YQ, Jiang B, Ding Y, Zeng X, Zeng YS. Tissue-Engineered Neural Network Graft Relays Excitatory Signal in the Completely Transected Canine Spinal Cord. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2019, 6(22):1901240.

22. Ma YH, Zeng X, Qiu XC, Wei QS, Che MT, Ding Y, Liu Z, Wu GH, Sun JH, Pang M, Rong LM, Liu B, Aljuboori Z, Han I, Ling EA, Zeng YS. Perineurium-like sheath derived from long-term surviving mesenchymal stem cells confers nerve protection to the injured spinal cord. Biomaterials. 2018, 160:37-55

     

Scientific Research Projects
Scientific research projects presided over in the past five years:

1. General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 82074528. Research on the mechanism of electroacupuncture regulating A2 astrocytes to promote the formation of synapses between neurons derived from transplanted neural stem cells (NSCs) and neurons in the injured spinal cord. From January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2024, with a funding of 550,000 yuan, presided over.
2. General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 81774397. Research on electroacupuncture promoting the survival and functional integration of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived neural networks transplanted into the injured spinal cord through NT-3-mediated inflammation regulation. From January 2018 to December 2021, with a funding of 600,000 yuan, presided over.
3. General Program of the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, 2023A1515012211. Research on the mechanism of electroacupuncture regulating excitatory intrinsic neurons in the injured spinal cord to integrate with the transplanted NSC-derived neural network and promote the repair of spinal cord neural circuits. From January 2023 to December 2025, with a funding of 100,000 yuan, presided over.
4. Free Application Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, 2017A030313674. Research on the mechanism of Du Meridian electroacupuncture combined with the transplantation of TrkC-MSCs to synergistically inhibit the inflammatory response and promote nerve regeneration in the injured spinal cord. From October 2017 to October 2020, with a funding of 100,000 yuan, presided over.
5. National Key Research and Development Program Project, 2017YFA0104702. Basic and clinical research on the repair of peripheral nerve defects with neural tissue modules derived from mesenchymal stem cells. From July 2017 to December 2022, with a total funding of 6,890,000 yuan, participated (allocated 900,000 yuan).

6. Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 81330028. Research on the mechanism of transplantation of stem cell-derived neural network scaffolds for the repair of damaged neural networks in the spinal cord. From January 2014 to December 2018, with a funding of 2,800,000 yuan, participated (ranked third).
   Free Application Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, 2014A030313122. Research on the mechanism of Du Meridian electroacupuncture promoting the integration of the transplanted MSC-derived neural network with the damaged spinal cord neural network. From January 2015 to January 2018, with a funding of 100,000 yuan, presided over.

    

Awards and Honors

1. Won the Second Prize of the Natural Science Award of the Guangdong Province Science and Technology Award in 2017, ranked second.
2. Won the Third Prize of the Science and Technology Award of the China Association of Chinese Medicine in 2021, ranked second.
3. A series of studies on the repair of spinal cord injury with transplanted stem cell-derived neural network tissues won the First Prize of the Fourth Guangdong Medical Science and Technology Award, ranked sixth, in December 2022.