Andy Chang, PhD
Assistant Professor
Physiology
School of Medicine

To maintain optimal oxygen delivery to tissues, there is constant regulation of respiratory and cardiovascular systems by mechanisms that act on different time scales. On a fast time scale, a small chemosensory organ called the carotid body senses decreases in blood oxygen to increase breathing within seconds.

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The carotid body can also regulate cardiovascular function acutely, and carotid body hyperactivity contributes to disease progression in hypertension, heart failure, and metabolic syndrome. Using the mouse as our primary model, we aim to identify the molecular mechanisms that mediate the carotid body’s ability to detect changes in blood oxygen as well as other metabolic signals, such as carbon dioxide and acid. One long term goal is to apply this knowledge to manipulating carotid body activity in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.

Awards

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• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Helen Hay Whitney Foundation, 2009-2012
• K12 Career Development Program, NHLBI, 2008-2011
• Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2001-2004
• A.B., magna cum laude in Biochemical Sciences, Harvard University, 2000

Education & Training

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• Postdoc Biochemistry Stanford University School of Medicine 2016
• Postdoc Neuroscience The Rockefeller University 2008
• Ph.D. Cell Biology (Tetrad) University of California, San Francisco 2006
• A.B. Biochemical Sciences Harvard University 2000

Websites

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• Andy Chang Lab (andychanglab.ucsf.edu)

Grants and Projects

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• Stimulation of an ectopic olfactory receptor to reverse ventilatory depression induced by opioids, NIH, 2020-2021

Publications (9)

Top publication keywords:
MitochondriaLactic AcidCaenorhabditis elegansRespirationHypoxia-Inducible Factor 1Neurons, AfferentCell MembraneGuanylate CyclaseReceptors, OdorantHypoxiaCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsChemoreceptor CellsCarotid BodyOlfactory Receptor NeuronsOxygen

• Oxygen regulation of breathing through an olfactory receptor activated by lactate.
  Nature 2015 Chang AJ, Ortega FE, Riegler J, Madison DV, Krasnow MA
• A distributed chemosensory circuit for oxygen preference in C. elegans.
  PLoS biology 2006 Chang AJ, Chronis N, Karow DS, Marletta MA, Bargmann CI
• Tissue-specific mitochondrial HIGD1C promotes oxygen sensitivity in carotid body chemoreceptors.
  eLife 2022 Timón-Gómez A, Scharr AL, Wong NY, Ni E, Roy A, Liu M, Chau J, Lampert JL, Hireed H, Kim NS, Jan M, Gupta AR, Day RW, Gardner JM, Wilson RJA, Barrientos A, Chang AJ
• Acute oxygen sensing by the carotid body: from mitochondria to plasma membrane.
  Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) 2017 Chang AJ
• Rodents and humans are able to detect the odour of L-Lactate.
  PloS one 2017 Mosienko V, Chang AJ, Alenina N, Teschemacher AG, Kasparov S

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• Neurons detect increases and decreases in oxygen levels using distinct guanylate cyclases.
  Neuron 2009 Zimmer M, Gray JM, Pokala N, Chang AJ, Karow DS, Marletta MA, Hudson ML, Morton DB, Chronis N, Bargmann CI
• Hypoxia and the HIF-1 transcriptional pathway reorganize a neuronal circuit for oxygen-dependent behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2008 Chang AJ, Bargmann CI
• Oxygen sensation and social feeding mediated by a C. elegans guanylate cyclase homologue.
  Nature 2004 Gray JM, Karow DS, Lu H, Chang AJ, Chang JS, Ellis RE, Marletta MA, Bargmann CI
• Regulation of Easter activity is required for shaping the Dorsal gradient in the Drosophila embryo.
  Development (Cambridge, England) 2002 Chang AJ, Morisato D