Shao-yu Chen, PhD most recently at the Department of Cancer Biology and Pharmacology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria  joined UofL's Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology with appointments as tenured professor and university scholar effective October 15, 2014.  His research program, funded by multiple R01 grant awards from the National Institutes of Health, focuses on elucidation of cellular and molecular mechanisms of alcohol-induced birth defects utilizing a combination of experimental approaches including RNA interference, microRNA technology, and ultrasound-guided in utero microinjection in cellular, whole embryo and in vivo mouse models.  Other members of his research team:

• Jie Lu, MS
• Xiaopan Chen, PhD
• Fuqiang Yuan, PhD
• Liang Zheng, PhD
• Keling Wang, MD, PhD