Xuesi Shao MD

Dr. Max Shao is an expert in neurophysiology and respiratory physiology. He works on a diverse range of scientific problems, including the role of nicotine in the modulation of breathing, membrane electrogenic transporters, and drug development aimed at Alzheimer’s disease therapy. He is most noted for his research on nicotine and modulation of neurons in the pre-Botzinger Complex (a brainstem area critical to breathing). He published over 60 papers. He publishes in first-rate journals, including Neuron, Journal of Neuroscience, Scientific Reports, and Chest. He collaborates with many different groups at UCLA, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Loma Linda University, and USC School of Pharmacy including those of Dr. Jack Feldman in the Dept of Neurobiology, Dr. Ira Kurtz in the Dept of Medicine, Dr. Zhuang-ting Fang in Dept of Anesthesiology, Dr. Yifang Zhu in the Dept of Environmental Health Sciences, and Dr. Theodore Friedman in the Dept of Internal Medicine at the Charles Drew University. An accomplishment of Dr. Shao that was consistently mentioned by the outside reviewers, was that he developed an important method for nicotine delivery to rodents. His technique allows for the delivery of specific doses of nicotine to the circulatory system via the lungs. Based on aerosol technology his approach emulates the pharmacokinetics of nicotine delivery in humans through cigarette and e-cigarette smoking. He has received multiple patents and provisional patents for his inventions including a US full patent for Aerosol Generation and Exposure System issued in 2021. Dr. Shao has obtained multiple research grants and small business grants (STTR) from NIH, the California Tobacco-Related Research Program, and UCLA. He is currently a Multiple PI on two NIH grants and a co-investigator on 5 grants including NIH, DOD, and California Tobacco-Related Research Program.