Legacy Research Institute

Haiying Shen, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist
R.S. Dow Neuroscience Laboratories
Legacy Research Institute

Phone: 503-413-2484  |  Email: hshen@downeurobiology.org

Peer Reviewed Publications
R.S. Dow Neuroscience Laboratories

Short Bio:

Dr. Haiying Shen received his M.D., training and Ph.D. degree in surgical science from the Third Medical University, and completed his post-doctoral fellowship training in neuropharmacology at the Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine.

During his Ph.D. training, Dr. Shen focused on the study of traumatic brain injury and neuroprotection. Dr. Shen then sought additional research training by matriculating as a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM). At BUSM, he was focusing on neuroprotection and psychomotor study on Parkinson’s disease. In 2008, Dr. Shen joined the R.S. Dow Neuroscience Laboratories, Legacy Research Institute at Legacy Health in Portland, Oregon, where he continues to advance his study on adenosine manipulation-based mechanism in neuropsychiatric disorders, including epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. During his work at Legacy Research Institute, Dr. Shen has developed many productive collaborations with internal and external physicians, scientists, and clinician-scientists to seek a better understanding of disease mechanisms, thus exploring new targets for drug development.

Dr. Shen has served as a Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on grants from prominent national and local research foundations, he has authored over 40 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is a recognized expert in adenosine-based neurobehavioral research.

Publication Highlights:

Sarcosine Suppresses Epileptogenesis in Rats With Effects on Hippocampal DNA Methylation.
Shen HY, Weltha L, Cook JM, Gesese R, Omi W, Baer SB, Rose RM, Reemmer J, Boison D.
Front Mol Neurosci. 2020 Jun 5;13:97.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32581708/

Dysregulation of adenosine kinase isoforms in breast cancer.
Shamloo B, Kumar N, Owen RH, Reemmer J, Ost J, Perkins RS, Shen HY. 
Oncotarget. 2019 Dec 31;10(68):7238-7250.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31921385/

Adenosine augmentation ameliorates psychotic and cognitive endophenotypes of schizophrenia.
Shen HY, Singer P, Lytle N, Wei CJ, Lan JQ, Williams-Karnesky RL, Chen JF, Yee BK, Boison D.
J Clin Invest. 2012 Jul;122(7):2567-77.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22706302/

Adenosine A(2A) receptors in psychopharmacology: modulators of behavior, mood and cognition.
Shen HY, Chen JF. 
Curr Neuropharmacol. 2009 Sep;7(3):195-206.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20190961/

A critical role of the adenosine A2A receptor in extrastriatal neurons in modulating psychomotor activity as revealed by opposite phenotypes of striatum and forebrain A2A receptor knock-outs.
Shen HY, Coelho JE, Ohtsuka N, Canas PM, Day YJ, Huang QY, Rebola N, Yu L, Boison D, Cunha RA, Linden J, Tsien JZ, Chen JF.  
J Neurosci. 2008 Mar 19;28(12):2970-5.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18354001/.

Research Interests:

• Adenosine-based mechanisms in neurobehavioral disorders
• Treatment and prevention against epilepsy and its comorbidities
• Translational Neuropharmacology
• Adenosine manipulation in malignant tumors

Research Focus:

Dr. Shen’s research is considered translational to bridge between laboratory-based discovery and clinical drug development. Dr. Shen has expertise in the areas of adenosine-based neurobehavioral mechanisms of brain diseases, with a specific focus on the development of novel therapeutic strategies to modify the brain function against epilepsy and other neuropsychiatric disorders. The main projects in Dr. Shen’s lab focus on how to prevent the development of seizures and the progression of epilepsy, as well as prevent epilepsy-related comorbidities, including cognitive deficits, neurodegeneration, and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

Another research focus of Dr. Shen is to explore the role of adenosine regulation in malignant tumors, with a view to develop new pharmacological approaches for brain tumor treatment. A recent study from the Shen Lab using pharmacological and gene therapy approach revealed the role of the adenosine metabolic enzyme in modulating cancer growth.