Current Research:

Dr. Yao’s laboratory has two major areas of interests: 1) Application of Metabolomics in Psychosis and Therapeutic Monitoring. Much of the research focus in major psychiatric disorders has been on neurotransmitter systems. While the pathophysiological role of dopamine, serotonin, and glutamate remains preeminent, these disorders may be better conceptualized as having a “multi-neurotransmitter” pathology. A metabolomic analytic approach has the potential to yield valuable insights into the likely complex pathophysiological mechanisms that affect multiple metabolic pathways, and thereby offer multiple windows of therapeutic opportunities. Our central hypothesis is that abnormalities in cell membrane phospholipids, particularly those involving arachidonic acid and related metabolites (collectively termed eicosanoids) are fundamental to at least one etiopathological pathway involved in the etiologically complex syndrome of schizophrenia. Further, we propose that phospholipid–arachidonate–eicosanoid (PAE) signaling abnormalities underlie niacin subsensitivity (the reduced sensitivity to the skin flush effect of niacin), which is among the most widely-replicated physiological abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, and not with other functional psychoses. 2). Clinical Improvements in Schizophrenia with Omega-3 Fatty Acids. There is excess and premature mortality in schizophrenia, from both natural and unnatural causes, when compared to the general population. Of the deaths from natural causes, those due to coronary artery disease (CAD) are particularly common. Administration of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), appears to be promising in reducing CAD risk and psychosis. In this pilot study, EPA supplementation will be provided to clinically-stable schizophrenic patients being treated with statins for 4 months using a randomized, double-blind design, to test whether this will have significantly greater reduction in plasma cholesterol levels, as well as improvements in psychosis.

Bio:

Jeffrey Yao is a Research Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine with secondary appointment in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, and Senior Research Career Scientist and Director of Neurochemistry and Psychopharmacology Laboratory at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (Highland Drive). He received a B.S. in Chemistry from Fu-Jen Catholic University (Taipei, Taiwan), earned his Ph.D. degree in Biological Chemistry from the University of Detroit, and received postdoctoral training in Lipid Chemistry at the University of Michigan. He was a member of Peripheral Nerve Research Center at Mayo Clinic before moving to Pittsburgh and has been a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh since 1985. His research interest primarily focuses on the biochemical aspects of disease processes that are related to mental illness and neurological disorders.