Hongwei Yu

Hongwei Yu, MD is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. His research focuses on developing recombinant adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors to manipulate genes in the peripheral sensory nervous system for studying pain mechanisms and treating chronic pain. He leads efforts to create AAV vectors targeting sensory neurons, satellite glial cells, and microglia for therapeutic applications.

Education: MD from Binzhou Medical College (China), MS from Shandong University Medical School (China), and postdoctoral training at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Research emphasizes gene and molecular therapy for chronic pain, with a focus on sodium channels, Piezo1/2 ion channels, and T-type calcium channels. His lab pioneered SGC-specific AAV vectors (sgcAAV) and microglia-specific AAV (mgAAV) for glial cell targeting. Current projects include AAV-encoded interfering peptide aptamers (AAV-iPAs) for pain modulation and dual AAV strategies targeting neurons and glia.

Publications span mechanosensitive ion channel roles in pain, AAV-based gene delivery systems, and translational models of neuropathic pain. His work bridges molecular mechanisms with clinical applications in pain management.