Prof. Geoff Lau joined the City University of Hong Kong in 2016 and is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. He received his BTech degree (Biomedical Science, First Hons.) from the University of Auckland in 2001. He received his PhD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in 2007 working with Suzanne Zukin and Michael Bennett. At Harvard University, Geoff pursued postdoctoral work with Venkatesh Murthy. Throughout his career, he has received multiple awards including a NARSAD Young Investigator Award (now BBRF), Distinction in Teaching from Harvard University, and a Scholarship for the Neural Systems and Behavior Course at Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole). He currently is the Program Leader for the MSc in Neuroscience and an Associate Editor at Bio-protocol.

Research Interests

Through the complex interaction of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, animals perceive and analyze the environment, learn associations, and perform behavior that is beneficial for their survival. How are specific neural circuits wired up in a manner that enables the brain to perform these functions? The research goal of our lab is two-pronged: (1) to understand how plasticity of specific neural circuits in the cortex contribute to learning and homeostatic regulation, and (2) to develop therapeutics for disorders such as epilepsy and depression using the knowledge we gained from mechanistic studies. We use the mouse olfactory cortex and hippocampus as model systems and utilize an array of methods including electrophysiology (in vitro and in vivo), 2-photon microscopy, optogenetics, chemogenetics, mouse genetics, deep-learning analysis, and immunofluorescent labeling.

More info can be found at Prof. Lau’s lab website.

Position Available

We are looking for energetic, motivated and talented individuals to join as graduate students and research assistants. Please send your CV and research summary directly to Prof. Lau. PhD students can consider applying through the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, Department of Neuroscience PhD programme or the Interdisciplinary Programme in Veterinary Science, a programme offered by the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences in collaboration with Cornell University.

Publications

Representative Peer-Reviewed Research Articles

• Guo AN, Zhang HQ, Li HH, Chiu A, Garcia C, Lagos CF, Saez JC^#, Lau CG^#. Inhibition of connexin hemichannels alleviates neuroinflammation and hyperexcitability in temporal lobe epilepsy. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2022, https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213162119.
  Last and co-corresponding^# author.
  • Featured by Nature Reviews Neurology
  • CityU press release
  • EurekAlert!
  • Medical Xpress
  • Biotechniques
  • DDW
  • 劉俊宇團隊揭示連接蛋白半通道在減輕顳葉癲癇發病過程中的神經炎癥和過度興奮的重要作用 | 邏輯神經科學Logical Thinking Neuroscience
  • Almetric score: 118 (30 Nov, 2022). Mentioned by 15 news outlets and 24 tweeters.
• Li HH, SUNG HH, Lau CG^#. Activation of somatostatin-expressing neuron in the lateral septum improves stress-induced depressive-like behaviors in mice. Pharmaceutics, 14(10):2253, 2022, https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/14/10/2253.
• Ngo EFY*, Li HH*, Zhang HQ, Lau CG^#. Acute fasting modulates food-seeking behavior and neural signaling in the piriform cortex. Nutrients, 14(19):4156, 2022, https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/4156.
• Guo AN, Lau CG^#. TNF-α orchestrates experience-dependent plasticity of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the anterior piriform cortex, Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2022, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.824454/full.
• Lau CG#, Zhang H, Murthy VN^#. Deletion of TrkB in parvalbumin interneurons alters cortical neural dynamics. Journal of Cellular Physiology, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.30571
• Jiang H, Guo A, Chiu A, Li H, Lai CSW, Lau CG^#. Target-specific control of piriform cortical output via distinct inhibitory circuits. The FASEB Journal, Volume 35, Issue 10, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202100757R
• Huang Y, Jiang H, Zheng Q, Fok AHK, Li X, Lau CG, Lai CSW. Environmental enrichment or selective activation of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons ameliorates synaptic and behavioral deficits in animal models with schizophrenia-like behaviors during adolescence. Molecular Psychiatry, 26:2533-52, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-020-01005-w
• Mazo C, Grimaud J, Shima Y, Murthy VN^#, Lau CG^# . Distinct projection patterns of different classes of layer 2 principal neurons in the olfactory cortex. Scientific Reports, 7:8282, 2017.
  ^# Co-corresponding authors.
• Murphy JA*, Stein IS*, Lau CG, Peixoto R, Aman TK, Kaneko N, Aromolaran K, Saulnier JL, Popescu GK, Sabatini BL, Hell JW, Zukin RS. Phosphorylation of Ser1166 on GluN2B by PKA is critical to synaptic NMDA receptor function and Ca2+ signaling in spines. Journal of Neuroscience, 34:869-79, 2014.
  * Equal first authors.
  Featured in This Week in The Journal.
• Lau CG, Murthy VN. Activity-dependent regulation of inhibition via GAD67. Journal of Neuroscience, 32:8521-31, 2012.
  Cover illustration.
  One of the most-read J. Neurosci. articles in June, 2012.
  Image of the week, BrainFacts.org.
• Lau CG, Takayasu Y, Rodenas-Ruano A, Paternain AV, Lerma J, Bennett MVL, Zukin RS. SNAP-25 is a target of PKC phosphorylation critical to NMDA receptor trafficking. Journal of Neuroscience, 30:242-254, 2010.
• Skeberdis VA*, Chevaleyre V*, Lau CG*, Goldberg JH, Pettit DL, Suadicani SO, Lin Y, Bennett MVL, Yuste R, Castillo PE, Zukin RS. Protein kinase A regulates calcium permeability of NMDA receptors. Nature Neuroscience, 9:501-510, 2006.
  * Equal first authors.

Reviews and Textbook Chapter

• Lau CG, Takeuchi K, Rodenas-Ruano A, Bennett MVL, Zukin RS. Regulation of NMDA receptor Ca2+ signalling and synaptic plasticity. Biochemical Society Transactions, 37:1369–1374, 2009.
• Lau CG, Zukin RS. NMDA receptor trafficking in synaptic plasticity and neuropsychiatric disorders. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8:413-416, 2007.
  Featured article of the June issue, 2007.
  Featured in the Signaling and Neurobiology sections, AfCS-Nature Signaling Gateway, June 2007.
• Zukin RS, Jover T, Yokota H, Calderone A, Simionescu M, Lau CG. Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Ischemia-induced Neuronal Death. In: Stroke: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Management . 4th Ed. Eds: Mohr, JP, Choi DW, Grotta JC, Weir B, Wolf PA. Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone. pp. 829-854, 2004.

1 June 2025