Journal of Brain Research

Sonata Suk-Yu YAU

Sonata Suk-Yu YAU
Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences
The Hong Kong Polytechnic university, Hong Kong

Biography

Dr Yau obtained her Bachelor degree in Biochemistry from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2005, followed by a PhD in neuroscience in Department of Anatomy at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 2009. During her PhD and postdoctoral training at HKU, she investigated the underlying mechanisms of physical exercise-promoted brain health in animal models of depression. She had obtained several academic awards including postdoctoral fellowship, research fellowship, conference travel awards and outstanding presentation awards during her training. With a postdoctoral fellowship awarded by Canadian Institute of Health Research and Fragile X Research Foundation of Canada, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Medical Sciences at University of Victoria (British Columbia), Canada from 2012 to 2015. She is interested in studying pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for promoting brain functions in diseased animal models. Her current research projects are centered on understanding the underlying mechanisms of physical exercise-induced brain health and examining novel therapeutic treatments for promoting brain health in animal models with neurological disorders.

Research Interest

Dr Sonata Suk-yu Yau is interested in studying pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for promoting brain functions in diseased animal models such as depression, Fragile X Syndrome. Her current research projects focus on understanding the underlying mechanisms of physical exercise-induced brain health and identifying novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers that acts exercise mimetic in treatment neurodegenerative disorders. She uses a number of research techniques to assess hippocampal structure and function, such as behavioral analysis, electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry, and western blot analysis. Her final goal is to discover novel therapeutic treatments for promoting brain health in animal models with neurological disorders