Rate My Professor Rena Jing

Dr Rena Jing serves as a Research Fellow in the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, at the University of Otago. Holding a PhD, her primary research focuses on biomarkers and therapeutic targets of Alzheimer's disease, the neurobiological basis and interventions for cognitive decline linked to aging and Alzheimer's disease, and the biological underpinnings of learning and memory. She utilizes a multifaceted methodology encompassing behavioural testing, neurochemical profiling, molecular biological techniques, immunohistochemistry, and electrophysiological recordings to explore these domains. Jing's work is closely associated with the Brain Health Research Centre and involves extensive collaboration with Professor Ping Liu and other colleagues in the department.

Jing has made substantial contributions to neuroscience through investigations into arginine metabolism dysregulation in brain disorders. Her publications span renal physiology to neurodegeneration, with notable early work including 'Amiloride restores renal medullary osmolytes in lithium-induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus' (Bedford et al., American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, 2008). Subsequent studies addressed arginine alterations in psychiatric and neurodegenerative models, such as 'Altered arginine metabolism in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of maternal immune activation rat offspring' (Jing et al., Schizophrenia Research, 2013), 'Regional variations and age-related changes in arginine metabolism in the rat brain stem and spinal cord' (Jing et al., Neuroscience, 2013), 'Altered arginine metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease brains' (Liu et al., Neurobiology of Aging, 2014), and 'A single intracerebroventricular Aβ25-35 infusion leads to prolonged alterations in arginine metabolism in the rat hippocampus and prefrontal cortex' (Bergin et al., Neuroscience, 2015). Recent publications include 'Partial Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Deficiency Exacerbates Cognitive Deficit and Amyloid Pathology in the APPswe/PS1ΔE9 Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease' (Ahmed et al., 2022), 'Altered Brain Arginine Metabolism and Polyamine System in a Mouse Model of Tauopathy' (Mein et al., 2022), and studies on sex and estrous cycle effects on arginine profiles (2021). In a project funded by the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand, she identified age-related shifts in glutamate and agmatine ratios in rodent brains, highlighting chemical changes in aging. With 39 publications and over 1,100 citations, her research informs therapeutic strategies for cognitive impairments.