Lin Mei is interested in synapses, their formation and functions. His lab has revealed molecular mechanisms of the assembly and maintenance of synapses, including the neuromuscular junction, a synapse that controls muscle contraction. His lab has identified novel biomarkers for neuromuscular disorders, one of which (anti-LRP4 antibody) is now used widely in the clinic to diagnose myasthenia gravis.

Recent studies from Mei’s lab have uncovered physiological functions and pathological mechanisms of many risk genes of brain conditions including schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and major depression. His lab showed that neuregulin 1 and ErbB4 signaling, which are both encoded by risk genes for depression and schizophrenia, are critical for GABA transmission, and thus, regulate local and inter-regional synchrony and brain functions. In a recent paper, they found that mutation of Cul3, a high-confidence ASD risk gene, causes social deficits and anxiety-like behaviors by impairing excitatory-inhibitory balance.

Mei is chair of the Department of Neurosciences, the Allen C. Holmes Professor of Neurological Diseases and the director of the Cleveland Brain Health Initiative at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He graduated from Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona and did postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Prior to his current position, he was on the faculty at the University of Virginia, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

He has received numerous awards, including a Distinguished Investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation and the Mathilde Solowey Lecture Award in Neuroscience from the Foundation for Advanced Education in Sciences. He is a fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science and a fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP).

Mei is actively involved in national and international society activities. Currently, he serves as a member of the Society for Neuroscience Committee on Committees, as chair of the selection committee for the Trainee Professional Development Award of the Society for Neuroscience, as councilor for the Association of Medical School Neuroscience Department Chairs, as vice chair of the ACNP’s Membership Advisory Task Force and as the inaugural president of the Society for Chinese Neuroscientists.