Hyung W. Nam Lab - LSU Health Shreveport

Man wearing a lab coat smiling standing in foreground, three female scientists working in a laboratory in the background — Nam Lab

Portrait of a man with light complexion, short black hair, smiling, wearing a lab coat, dress shirt and tie

Hyung W. Nam, PhD

Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience

PhD, 2006, Biochemistry - Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Molecular Pharmacology and Psychiatry - Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Research

Major Research Interests

Neuropharmacology of Alcohol Use Disorders and Psychiatric Disorders

The main goal of our research is to investigate brain glutamate signaling in alcoholism and psychiatric disorders by using a behavioral neuroscience approach. Interestingly, both genetic and environmental factors contribute to alcoholism, influenced susceptibility, and treatment responsiveness. Thus, we believe that linking addictive behaviors with a glutamate neuromodulation process and also intracellular calcium mechanisms are essential to understanding psychiatric symptoms and how to better treat them. The focus of our research is to elucidate neurogranin (Ng) mechanism that underline relevant addictive behavioral phenotypes in rodent models using a combination of cutting-edge techniques in the areas of mouse genetics, neuroproteomics, neuropharmacology, and behavioral neuroscience.

Neurogranin-mediated Endothelial Activation

We are studying that endothelial nitric oxide synthetase (NOS) mechanism using calcium-dependent neurogranin (Ng) signaling. Ng expression in the brain attenuates calcium-CaM complex formation, and plays a critical role in regulating neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) activation. Our recent study identified that Ng is also expressed in endothelial cells and plays an essential role in endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity. Consistently, our new results indicate that Ng expression is significantly decreased in the left anterior descending artery of coronary artery disease patients. We therefore hypothesize that Ng dysregulation expression decreases NO bioavailability resulting in endothelial activation and inflammation, thus contributing to the promotion of atherosclerosis. We have used both in vitro and in vivo model systems using a combination of cutting-edge techniques including CRISPR/Cas9, flow-mediated dilation, partial carotid ligation, and label-free proteomics. Overall, our studies will have a broad impact on the field by dissecting the crucial roles of Ng-mediated eNOS regulation in regulating endothelial activation and atherosclerosis. In the long term, these studies may reveal novel NO therapeutic targets in the treatment of vascular disease.

Pharmacometabolomics and Pharmacoproteomics for Alcohol Use Disorders

We have studied drug efficacy biomarker studies using metabolomics and proteomics to elucidate pharmacological intervention in alcohol use disorders. We have examined blood metabolite or brain tissue protein changes as a result of medication treatment and have found a possible metabolism in alcoholism patients that is associated with a positive outcome of medication treatment. We believe that our research will help to identify the best treatment option for a specific sub-population and contribute to the development of drug efficacy biomarker for personalized medicine in alcohol use disorders.

Publications

Selected Publications

Reker AN, Oliveros A, Hinton DJ, Kim T, Bruner RC, Sullivan JM, Choi DS, Goeders NE, Nam HW. Accumbal Neurogranin Regulates mGluR5 Mediated NMDAR Hypo-function and Motivation Related to Ethanol Seeking. Neuropharmacology,131: 58-67, 2018
Germany CE, Reker AN, Hinton DJ, Oliveros A, Smith K, Cvek U, Choi DS, Nam HW. Pharmacoproteomics identifies the drug efficacy mechanism in acamprosate treatment and alcoholism. Proteomics, 18(7), e1700417, 2018
Chandra M, Escalante-Alcaldeb D, Bhuiyan MS, Orr AW, Kevil C, Morrisd AJ, Nam HW, Dominic P, McCarthy KJ, Miriyala S, Panchatcharama M. Cardiac-specific inactivation of LPP3 in mice leads to myocardial dysfunction and heart failure. Redox Biology, 14:261-271, 2018
Sreedhar A, Cassell T, Smith P, Lu D, Nam HW, Lane AN, Zhao Y. UCP2 Overexpression Redirects Glucose into Anabolic Metabolic Pathways. Proteomics, 19(4): e1800353, 2019
Sullivan JM 3rd, Grant CA, Reker AN, Nahar L, Goeders NE, Nam HW, Neurogranin regulates sensorimotor gating through cortico-striatal circuitry. Neuropharmacology,150: 91-99, 2019
Nam HW, Grant CA, Jorgensen AN, Holtz-Heppelmann CJ, Trutschl M, Cvek U, Neurogranin regulates alcohol sensitivity through AKT pathway in the nucleus accumbens. Proteomics. 20(1): e1900266, 2020
Cheriyan V, Alfaidi M, Jorgensen AN, Alam MA, Abdullah CS, Kolluru GK, Bhuiyan MD, Kevil CG, Orr AW, Nam HW, Neurogranin regulates eNOS function and endothelial activation. Redox Biology, 34: 101487, 2020
Highlighted in Redox Biology Editorials “Redox Signaling and Cardiovascular Disease: New Paradigms and discoveries”. Redox Biology, 37: 101743, 2020
Nahar L, Grant CA, Hewett C, Cortes D, Reker AN, Kang S, Choi DS, Nam HW, Regulation of Pv-Specific Interneurons in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Reward-Seeking Behaviors, J Neurochem, 156(2):212-224, 2020
Abulseoud OA, Ross TJ, Nam HW, Caarelli EC, Tennekopon M, Schleyer B, Castillo J, Fedota J, Gu H, Yang Y, Stein E, Short-term nicotine deprivation alters dorsal anterior cingulate glutamate concentration and concomitant cingulate-cortical functional connectivity, Neuropsychopharmacology, 45(11):1920-1930, 2020
Kilgore PJM, Trutschl M, Cvek U, Nam HW, hSOM: Visualizing Self-Organizing Maps to Accommodate Categorical Data. Proceedings of the International Conference Information Visualisation (IV), IEEE Computer Society, 6:611-617, 2020
Nahar L, Delacroix BL, Nam HW, The role of Parvalbumin Interneurons in neurotransmitter balance and neurological disease, Front Psychiatry, 679960, 2021
Nahar L, Kaufman SE, Davis PG, Saunders SL, Disbrow EA, Patterson J, Nam HW, Blood Glutamine Synthetase Signaling in Alcohol Use Disorder and Racial Disparity, Transl Psychiatry, 12: 71, 2022
Trutschl M, Kilgore PJM, Trans B, Nam HW, Clifford E, Akande A, Cvek U, hSOM: VennSOM: A SOM-Assisted Visualization of Binary Data. Proceedings of the International Conference Information Visualisation (IV), pid138, 2022
Jorgensen AN, Abdullah CS, Bhuiyan MS, Watt M, Dominic P, Kevil CG, Nam HW, Neurogranin regulates calcium-dependent cardiac hypertrophy, Exp Mol Pathology, 127, 104815, 2022
Jamison CN, Cuevas-Ocampo AK, Flowers AB, Nam HW, Dayton RD, McKinney MP, Mitchell HG, Fitzgerald JS, Steib ME, Toups CR, McMartin KE. Histopathological evidence that diethylene glycol produces kidney and nervous system damage in rats. Neurotoxicology. 91:200-210. 2022 May 25.
Dhaibar HA, Kamberov L, Carroll NG, Amatya S, Cosic D, Gomez-Torres O, Vital S, Sivandzade F, Bhalerao A, Mancuso S, Shen X, Nam HW, Orr AW, Dudenbostel T, Bailey SR, Kevil CG, Cucullo L, Cruz-Topete D. Exposure to Stress Alters Cardiac Gene Expression and Exacerbates Myocardial Ischemic Injury in the Female Murine Heart. Int J Mol Sci. 1;24(13):10994, 2023
Jorgensen AN, Rashdan NA, Rao KNS, Delgadillo LF, Kolluru GK, Krzywanski DM, Pattillo CB, Kevil CG, Nam HW. Neurogranin expression regulates mitochondrial function and redox balance in endothelial cells. Redox Biol. 2024 Apr;70:103085.
Chesnokova LS, Mosher BS, Fulkerson HL, Nam HW, Shakya AK, Yurochko AD. Distinct early role of PTEN regulation during HCMV infection of monocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Mar 19;121(12):e2312290121.

Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography

Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography in Google Scholar

team

positions

Post-doctoral Fellows

While we are not currently recruiting Post-doctoral Fellows, quality candidates will always be considered. To inquire about opportunities, contact Dr. Nam at Hyung.Nam@lsuhs.edu.

Graduate Students

Graduate Students interested in conducting research in the Nam Lab should contact Dr. Nam at Hyung.Nam@lsuhs.edu.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

We are not currently hiring any additional undergraduates. However, positions can become available in the summer.

Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows

The Nam Lab has a number of research projects available for any Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows interested in drug addiction and alcoholism.

Search Keywords (names, programs, locations, etc.)

Find People (faculty, researchers, postdocs, etc.)

Popular Links

Nam Lab