Rate My Professor Yiwen Zheng

Associate Professor Yiwen Zheng serves in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Otago, part of the Health Sciences Division. She holds a BSc and PhD and has been conducting research at the university since joining as a postdoctoral fellow in 1998. Her work centers on two principal domains: elucidating the central nervous system mechanisms responsible for the generation and perception of tinnitus, a condition characterized by phantom ringing in the ears, and developing pharmacological interventions for its treatment; and exploring the vestibular system's role in integrating sensory inputs within the hippocampus, which underpins spatial learning, memory formation, and neuroplasticity. Employing sophisticated methodologies such as pharmacological assays, neurochemical analyses, electrophysiological recordings, and behavioral paradigms, Zheng investigates the auditory system, tinnitus pathology, vestibular influences, hippocampal theta rhythms, neurotransmitters, and associated neural adaptations.

Zheng has produced over 112 peer-reviewed publications, accumulating more than 3,400 citations, reflecting substantial impact in neuroscience and otolaryngology. Notable contributions include 'Deep brain reconditioning stimulation suppresses tinnitus-like behaviour in a rat model of acoustic trauma' (2024, Scientific Reports), 'Time-dependent effects of acoustic trauma and tinnitus on hippocampal theta oscillations in rats' (2024, Hearing Research), 'Vestibular projections to the striatum: the mechanism of galvanic vestibular stimulation effects in Parkinson’s Disease?' (2023), 'A scoping review of tinnitus research undertaken by New Zealand researchers: Aotearoa–an international hotspot for tinnitus innovation and collaboration' (2024), 'Lack of Amino Acid Alterations Within the Cochlear Nucleus and the Auditory Cortex in Acoustic Trauma-Induced Tinnitus Rats' (2024), 'Brain metabolic changes in rats following acoustic trauma' (2017, Frontiers in Neuroscience), 'Effects of acute altered gravity during parabolic flight and/or vestibular loss on cell proliferation in the rat dentate gyrus' (2017, Neuroscience Letters), and 'The modulation of hippocampal theta rhythm by the vestibular system' (2018, Journal of Neurophysiology). Her research receives support from the New Zealand Health Research Council, New Zealand Neurological Foundation, Jean Cathie Bequest, Brain Research New Zealand, and Eisdell Moore Centre for Research on Hearing and Balance Disorders. As co-director of the Vestibular and Auditory Research Group and a key member of the Brain Health Research Centre and Neuroscience programme, Zheng advances therapeutic strategies for tinnitus and vestibular-cognitive interactions.