Ronghua ZhuGe

Ronghua ZhuGe is a Professor at UMass Chan Medical School, affiliated with the T.H. Chan School of Medicine's Department of Microbiology. He holds additional positions at the NeuroNexus Institute and Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. His research focuses on smooth muscle physiology, calcium signaling, and bitter taste receptor functions in extra-oral tissues. Dr. ZhuGe earned his B.S. from Zhejiang University and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

His lab investigates mechanisms underlying smooth muscle contraction, including Ca²⁺ spark signaling, ion channel regulation, and the role of bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) in airway and uterine smooth muscle. Recent work explores TAS2R-mediated bronchodilation and tocolytic therapies for asthma and preterm labor. Techniques include patch-clamp electrophysiology, microscopy, and transgenic mouse models.

Dr. ZhuGe teaches BBS 760: Introduction to Neuroscience, covering ion channels and neurotransmission. His lab actively recruits graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.