Huasheng Yu, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
Department: Neuroscience
Contact information
3610 Hamilton Walk
145 Johnson Pavilion
Philadelphia, PA 19104
145 Johnson Pavilion
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 2158215984
Education:
B.S. (Life Sciences & Technologies)
Lanzhou University, 2013.
Ph.D. (Neurobiology)
Peking University, 2019.
Permanent linkB.S. (Life Sciences & Technologies)
Lanzhou University, 2013.
Ph.D. (Neurobiology)
Peking University, 2019.
Description of Research Expertise
I specialize in somatosensory neuroscience, with a focus on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying chronic pain and itch in both humans and animal models. My expertise includes:Sensory Neuron Transcriptomics: Development and application of laser capture microdissection (LCM)-based single-soma RNA sequencing to profile human peripheral sensory neurons.
Molecular Mechanisms of Itch and Pain: Identified MRGPRX4 as a bile acid receptor linked to cholestatic itch, uncovering new therapeutic targets.
Neural Circuit Manipulation & Functional Studies: Utilization of mouse genetics and behavioral assays to investigate somatosensory neuron function.
Selected Publications
Asymmetric lateral habenula function and peripheral neural mechanisms in regulating itch-evoked scratching: Asymmetric lateral habenula function and peripheral neural mechanisms in regulating itch-evoked scratching. Current Biology Dec 2025.Sylvanus Toikumo, Marc Parisien, Michael J Leone, Chaitanya Srinivasan, Huasheng Yu, Asta Arendt-Tranholm, Úrzula Franco-Enzástiga, Christoph Hofstetter, Michele Curatolo, Wenqin Luo, Andreas R Pfenning, Rebecca P Seal, Rachel L Kember, Theodore J Price, Luda Diatchenko, Stephen G Waxman, Henry R Kranzler: The cell-type–specific genetic architecture of chronic pain in brain and dorsal root ganglia. The Journal of Clinical Investigation Dec 2025.
Shamsuddin A Bhuiyan, Saad S Nagi, Ishwarya Sankaranarayanan, Evangelia Semizoglou, Dmitry Usoskin, Lite Yang, Huasheng Yu, Asta Arendt-Tranholm, Zachariah Bertels, Parth Bhatia, Otmane Bouchatta, Kevin Boyer, Anna Cervantes, Joshua Chalif, Himanshu Chintalapudi, Anthony Cicalo, Bryan Copits, Caitlin Cronin, Michele Curatolo, Xianjun Dong, Patrick M Dougherty, Adam Dourson, Geoffrey Funk, Katherin Gabriel, Dustin S Griesemer, Hong Guo, Prashant Gupta, Christoph Hofstetter, Peter Horton, Amanda Hsieh, Nikhil Nageshwar Inturi, Aakanksha Jain, Selwyn Jayakar, Benjamin Johnston, Rebecca Kim, Doris Krauter, Jussi Kupari, John Lemen, Joseph B Lesnak, Weiqiang Liu, Iris Lopez, Yi Lu, Hannah J MacMillan, Khadijah Mazhar, Pauline Meriau, Jeffrey R Moffitt, Marisol Mancilla Moreno, Juliet M Mwirigi, Huma Naz, Jayden O’Brein, Maria Payne, John Del Rosario, Sarah F Rosen, Stephanie Shiers, Ebenezer Simpson, Richard Slivicki, James R Stone, Diana Tavares-Ferreira, Megan Uhelski, Clifford J Woolf, Qingru Xu, Jiwon Yi, Muhammad Saad Yousuf, Difei Zhu, Valeria Cavalli, Guoyan Zhao, Håkan Olausson, Patrik Ernfors, Robert W Gereau IV, Wenqin Luo, Theodore J Price, William Renthal, NIH PRECISION Human Pain Network: A Reference Atlas of the Human Dorsal Root Ganglion. bioRxiv Nov 2025.
Huasheng Yu, Anna Yao Carroll, Kevin Shen, Nathan Wu, Hanying Yan, Jingwei Xiong, Miguel Francisco Mercado, Eric A Kaiser, Mayank Gautam, Mingyao Li, Wenqin Luo, Penn High Precision Pain Center: Segmentation Matters: Recognizing the Cell Segmentation Challenge in Spatial Transcriptomics. bioRxiv Aug 2025.
Yang J, Zhao T, Fan J, Zou H, Lan G, Guo F, Shi Y, Ke H, Yu H, Yue Z, Wang X, Bai Y, Li S, Liu Y, Wang X, Chen Y, Li Y, Lei X.: Structure-guided discovery of bile acid derivatives for treating liver diseases without causing itch. Cell 187: 7164-7182, Dec 2024.
Yu H, Nagi SS, Usoskin D, Hu Y, Kupari J, Bouchatta O, Yan H, Cranfill SL, Gautam M, Su Y, Lu Y, Wymer J, Glanz M, Albrecht P, Song H, Ming GL, Prouty S, Seykora J, Wu H, Ma M, Marshall A, Rice FL, Li M, Olausson H, Ernfors P, Luo W.: Leveraging deep single-soma RNA sequencing to explore the neural basis of human somatosensation. Nat Neurosci Nov 2024.
Gautam M, Yamada A, Yamada AI, Wu Q, Kridsada K, Ling J, Yu H, Dong P, Ma M, Gu J, Luo W.: Distinct local and global functions of mouse Aβ low-threshold mechanoreceptors in mechanical nociception. Nat Commun 15: 2911, Apr 2024.
Bouchatta O, Brodzki M, Manouze H, Carballo GB, Kindström E, de-Faria FM, Yu H, Kao AR, Thorell O, Liljencrantz J, Ng KKW, Frangos E, Ragnemalm B, Saade D, Bharucha-Goebel D, Szczot I, Moore W, Terejko K, Cole J, Bonnemann C, Luo W, Mahns DA, Larsson M, Gerling GJ, Marshall AG, Chesler AT, Olausson H, Nagi SS, Szczot M.: PIEZO2-dependent rapid pain system in humans and mice. bioRxiv Dec 2023.
Yu H, Xiong J, Ye AY, Cranfill SL, Cannonier T, Gautam M, Zhang M, Bilal R, Park JE, Xue Y, Polam V, Vujovic Z, Dai D, Ong W, Ip J, Hsieh A, Mimouni N, Lozada A, Sosale M, Ahn A, Ma M, Ding L, Arsuaga J, Luo W.: Scratch-AID, a deep learning-based system for automatic detection of mouse scratching behavior with high accuracy. Elife 11: e84042, Dec 2022.
Yu H, Cranfill SL, Luo W.: ErbB4(+) spinal cord dorsal horn neurons process heat pain. Neuron 110: 2206-2208, Jul 2022.