Cheng Jiang

Dr. Cheng Jiang is an Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. He earned his PhD in Neuroscience from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2017). His research focuses on neurobiological mechanisms underlying depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and stress-related disorders, with a particular emphasis on VGF-derived peptides and neurotrophic factors. Key contributions include elucidating ketamine’s antidepressant actions via opioid systems and identifying VGF’s role in energy homeostasis and cognitive function.

Research interests span neuropharmacology, molecular psychiatry, and translational neuroscience. Recent work highlights VGF’s regulatory effects on microglial function, β-cell biology, and behavioral resilience to stress. He collaborates widely, including with teams at Yale’s NIDA Neuroproteomics Center and Mount Sinai.

Awards include the 2023 Tourette Association Young Investigator Award and 2022 Society of Biological Psychiatry Early Career Fellowship. His lab explores rapid-acting antidepressants, neuroprotective pathways, and systems biology approaches to neurodegenerative diseases.