Rate My Professor Isaiah Cheong

Isaiah Cheong is an Assistant Research Fellow in the Department of Physiology within the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago. He earned a Master of Science degree in Genetics from the University of Otago in 2016, with his thesis titled "Gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease: Characterising lentivirus and adeno-associated virus transduction profiles in the entorhinal cortex," supervised by Stephanie Hughes. Cheong's academic interests center on the effects of hormones on neural circuitry and maternal behaviour during pregnancy and lactation. His research explores prolactin modulation of thermoregulatory circuits that confer resilience to thermal challenges during pregnancy, central neural mechanisms regulating cardiac function in type 2 diabetes mellitus, the estrogen negative feedback pathway controlling the GnRH pulse generator in female mice, highly redundant neuropeptide volume co-transmission (involving kisspeptin, neurokinin B, and dynorphin) underlying episodic activation of the GnRH neuron dendron, indirect suppression of pulsatile luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion by corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons, plasticity in intrinsic excitability of hypothalamic magnocellular neurosecretory neurons during late pregnancy and lactation, and increased neuronal activation in sympathoregulatory regions of the brain and spinal cord in type 2 diabetic rats. Cheong applies advanced methodologies such as GCaMP fiber photometry for in vivo neuronal activity recording in freely behaving mice, optogenetic stimulation of arcuate nucleus kisspeptin neurons, and validation of custom antibodies for immunohistochemistry.

Among his key publications are "Central regulation of the heart in type 2 diabetes mellitus" (Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, 2026, co-authored with Sethi, Bussey, Schwenke, Erickson, Brown, and Lamberts); "Prolactin modulation of thermoregulatory circuits provides resilience to thermal challenge of pregnancy" (Cell Reports, 2025, with Ladyman, Georgescu, Stewart, Khant Aung, Grattan, and Brown); "Definition of the estrogen negative feedback pathway controlling the GnRH pulse generator in female mice" (Nature Communications, 2022, with Yip, Liu, Hessler, Cheong, Porteous, Heather, and Herbison); "Highly redundant neuropeptide volume co-transmission underlying episodic activation of the GnRH neuron dendron" (eLife, 2021); "Indirect Suppression of Pulsatile LH Secretion by CRH Neurons in the Female Mouse" (Endocrinology, 2021); "Increased neuronal activation in sympathoregulatory regions of the brain and spinal cord in type 2 diabetic rats" (Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 2021, with Perkinson, Bussey, Seymour, Fronius, Schwenke, Brown, Lamberts); and "Plasticity in Intrinsic Excitability of Hypothalamic Magnocellular Neurosecretory Neurons in Late-Pregnant and Lactating Rats" (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021). In 2024, Cheong presented posters at the 18th New Zealand Medical Sciences Congress on progesterone signalling for the timely onset of maternal behaviour and limited bedding/nesting models disrupting pup development and postpartum dam behaviour. His research outputs have received over 460 citations, advancing knowledge in hypothalamic neuroendocrinology, reproductive physiology, and autonomic cardiovascular control.