Self-introduction

Dr. Xue-Jun Song obtained his PhD in Neurobiology from Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Neuroscience and had his postdoctoral training at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Song was then serving as a faculty from young tenure-track to senior tenured in the University of Texas Medical Center and Parker University, respectively, for total eighteen years. Dr. Song was then served as a professor at Peking University Health Science Center Beijing and Director of Peking University Center for Pain Medicine. He also served as Vice Chair of Department of Anesthesiology and Director of Center for Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at Peking University Cancer Hospital, Director of Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology and Vice Dean of School of Anesthesiology at Xuzhou Medical University. In the national and international academic societies, Dr. Song currently serves as committee members of the Scientific Program Committee, Task-Force for Pain Definition, and Membership Committee of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), member of Science and Education Committee of American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), Chair of Chinese Association for the Study of Pain (CASP) and China Chapter of IASP, Councilor of Chinese Neuroscience Society, Vice Chairs of Chinese Society for Pharmacology subcommittee Anesthesia-Pharmacology and Chinese Physiological Society subcommittee Translational Pain Research Committee, and Vice President of Shenzhen City Association for Pain Physicians, etc. Dr. Song is also serving as the Senior or Associate Editors for the Journal of Neurophysiology and Biochemistry, Pain Medicine, Pain, Neurobiology of Pain and Pain Reports as well as Executive Senior Editor and English Editor of the Chinese J Pain Medicine.

Dr. Song has been involving in basic medical research and clinical practice in the fields of neuroscience, pain medicine and anesthesiology. He has been a leading scientist in understanding the primary and secondary sensory neuron excitability, synaptic plasticity and the intracellular signaling transduction as well as their roles in neuropathic pain, cancer pain, and opiate actions particularly regarding the roles of WNT signaling and ephrinB-EphB receptor signaling in neuropathic and cancer pain and opiate actions. His research has been funded by the key national and international research grants and has resulted in several dozens of high-quality original research articles published in the peer-reviewed journals including Anesthesiology, Brain, Cancer Res, J Clin Invest, J Neurosci, Nat Neurosci, Pain, etc., as well as international invention patents. Many of his research outcomes were highlighted by major scientific organizations including American Physiological Society, American Association of Cancer Research, the key media like NBC, CBS, etc., and the scientific journals including Nature Review Drug Discovery, Nature Publishing Group, PainResForum, etc., and recognized by the prestigious national and international scientific awards. Dr. Song has received AAPM 2018 Robert Adison Award from AAPM, The Scott Haldeman Award and The Louis Sportelli NCMIC Award from WFC, IASP-The People, Outstanding Young Scientist Award from National Natural Science Foundation of China, Advance Award of Science and Technology from Chinese Ministry of Education, Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc. Dr. Song has also made great contributions to the high education of pain medicine and has outstanding records, i.e., he started the first courses of Pain Medicine and Perioperative Medcine for the medical students at Peking University Health Science Center since 2014 and SUSTech Medical School (reported by China Health News, and IASP highlights), and that his student won the 2016 Rhodes Scholar, the first Chinese medical student who won the honor in the history of Rhodes Scholar.

Research Interests

1.   Sensory and cognitive neuroscience
2. The neural and molecular mechanism of consciousness and empathy and its application in artificial intelligence
3. The molecular mechanism of neuropathic pain and opioid addiction and tolerance and the development of new drugs and new technologies for clinical treatment    

Professional Experience

2021—至今  Chair of Department of Medical Neuroscience, SUSTech 

2017—至今  Director of SUSTech Center for Pain Medicine, SUSTech

2016—至今  Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen

2016—2019  Member of Medical School Planning Committee, SUSTech

2012—2017 Professor of Neurobiology and Pain Medicine, Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology; Professor of Oncology, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Director of Center for Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Vice Chair of Department of Anesthesiology, Cancer Hospital; Director of Center for Pain Medicine and Vice Chair of its Academic Committee, Peking University Health Science Center and Peking University Cancer Hospital, Beijing
1999—2016 Senior Scientist and Associate Professor (1999-2003), Professor (2004-2016) of Neurobiology and Pain Medicine, Member of Academic Advisory Committee, Associate Director of Parker Research Institute (Health Science) and Director of Section of Basic Science Research, Parker University, Dallas, Texas
1998—1999  Instructor and then Research Assistant Professor, The University of Texas Medical Center, Houston, Texas
1995—1998 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology and Section of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
1986—1995  Resident, Instructor and Associate Professor, Department of Physiology and Department of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province
2005—2010 Distinguished Professor of Anesthesiology, Director of Jiangsu Province Key Lab of Anesthesiology, Vice Dean of School of Anesthesiology, and Funding Director of Center for Pain Research and Management, Xuzhou Medical University Affiliated Hospital, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province.

Educational Background
1981-1986 MB/MD in Clinical Medicine, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province

1989-1992 MS in Clinical Medicine major in Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province

1992-1995 PhD in Neurobiology, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai

Honors & Awards

2018 Robert Addison Award for the outstanding contribution to pain medicine and the international cooperation by AAPM in Vancouver, Canada

2018 IASP-The People
2017 Kongque-Talented Award-B, Shenzhen City Government
2015 The Louis Sportelli NCMIC Award, WFC Scientific Award-Class Second by WFC in Athens, Greece
2014 Distinguished Medical Expert, Jiangsu Province Government
2006 Extraordinary Young Scientist Award, National Nature Science Foundation of China in Beijing
2005 The Scott Haldeman Award, WFC Scientific Award-Class First, by WFC in Sydney, Australia
2005 Outstanding Professorship Award, Parker University, Dallas, Texas
2005 Researcher of the Year, Activator International LTD, Phoenix, AZ
2004 Award of Advancement of Science and Technology-Class First, Ministry of Education of China
1999 Award of Natural Science-Class Second, Chinese Academy of Sciences
1995 Outstanding Young Scientist Award, Chinese Academy of Sciences-Shanghai Brach
1994 Presidential Award, Chinese Academy of Sciences
1993 ZhangXJ Foundation Research Award for National Young Scientists-Class Second, Chinese Physiological Society, Beijing

Selected recent publications

1. Li LH, Yao HY, Mo RF, Xu LH, Chen P, Chen YC, Hu JJ, Xie W, Song XJ*. Blocking proteinase-activated receptor 2 signaling relieves pain, suppresses nerve sprouting, improves tissue repair, and enhances analgesic effect of B vitamins in rats with Achilles tendon injury. Pain 2024 Apr 9; Epub ahead of print.

2. Song XJ*, Hu JJ. Neurobiological basis of emergence from anesthesia. Trends in Neurosciences 2024 March 14; DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2024.02.005.

3. Hu JJ, Liu YX, Yao HY, Cao BX, Liao HB, Yang RD, Chen P, Song XJ*. Emergence of consciousness from anesthesia through ubiquitin degradation of KCC2 in the ventral posteromedial nucleus of the thalamus. Nature Neuroscience 2023 May;26(5):751-764.

4. Ma P, Mo R, Liao H, Qiu C, Wu G, Yang C, Zhang Y, Zhao Y, Song XJ*. Gut microbiota depletion by antibiotics ameliorates somatic neuropathic pain induced by nerve injury, chemotherapy, and diabetes in mice. Journal of Neuroinflammation 2022 Jun 28;19(1):169.

5. Deng X, Ma P, Wu M, Liao H, Song XJ*. Role of matrix metalloproteinases in myelin abnormalities and mechanical allodynia in rodents with diabetic neuropathy. Aging and Disease 2021 Oct 1;12(7):1808-1820.

6. Wu MZ, Li ZH, Liang L, Ma PC, Cui D, Chen P, Wu GH, Song XJ*. Wnt signaling contributes to withdrawal symptoms from opioid receptor activation induced by morphine exposure or chronic inflammation. Pain 2020 Mar;161(3):532-544.

7. Ma PC, Chen P, Zhou ZL, Wu MZ, Song XJ*. Activation of EphB receptors contributes to primary sensory neuron excitability by facilitating Ca2+ influx directly or through Src kinase-mediated N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor phosphorylation. Pain 2020 Feb 27.PMID: 32149862.

8. Xu N, Wu MZ, Deng XT, Ma PC, Li ZH, Liang L, Song XJ*. Inhibition of YAP/TAZ Activity in Spinal Cord Suppresses Neuropathic Pain. The Journal of Neuroscience 2016;36(39):10128-40.

9. Liu S, Liu YP, Huang ZJ, Zhang YK, Song AA, Ma PC, Song XJ*. Wnt/Ryk signaling contributes to neuropathic pain by regulating sensory neuron excitability and spinal synaptic plasticity in rats. Pain 2015;156(12):2572-84.

10. Liu S, Liu YP, Song WB, Song XJ*. EphrinB-EphB receptor signaling contributes to bone cancer pain via Toll-like receptor and proinflammatory cytokines in rat spinal cord. Pain 2013;154(12):2823-35.

11. Zhang YK, Huang ZJ, Liu S, Liu YP, Song AA, Song XJ*. WNT signaling underlies the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain in rodents. Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) 2013;123(5):2268-86.

12. Huang ZJ, Li HC, Cowan AA, Liu S, Zhang YK, Song XJ*. Chronic compression or acute dissociation of dorsal root ganglion induces cAMP-dependent neuronal hyperexcitability through activation of PAR2. Pain 2012 Jul;153(7):1426-1437.

13. Wu XF, Liu WT, Liu YP, Huang ZJ, Zhang YK, Song XJ*. Reopening of ATP-sensitive potassium channels reduces neuropathic pain and regulates astroglial gap junctions in the rat spinal cord. Pain 2011 Nov;152(11):2605-2615.

14. Liu S, Liu WT, Liu YP, Dong HL, Henkemeyer M, Xiong LZ, Song XJ*. Blocking EphB1 receptor forward signaling in spinal cord relieves bone cancer pain and rescues analgesic effect of morphine treatment in rodents. Cancer Research 2011 Jul 1;71(13):4392-402.

15. Liu WT, Han Y, Liu YP, Song AA, Barnes B, Song XJ*. Spinal matrix metalloproteinase-9 contributes to physical dependence on morphine in mice. The Journal of Neuroscience 2010 Jun 2;30(22):7613-23.