Dr. King Wai Yau

Biography

King-Wai Yau is a professor in the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research primarily focuses on sensory transduction processes, particularly in vision and olfaction. He studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying rod and cone phototransduction, and highlights the significance of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signaling pathways in these processes. His work explores how light absorption by retinal photoreceptors initiates visual responses and how these phenomena translate into neural signals. Yau's investigations also extend to the role of calcium ions in managing phototransduction and their implications for visual system adaptation to light. Furthermore, he examines olfactory transduction mechanisms, noting the involvement of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and its regulatory dynamics in olfactory receptor cells. His research contributions shed light on the intricacies of sensory signal transduction and its impact on both image and non-image visual processing, as well as olfactory perception.

Research Interests

Experience