48049-Chai, Ya

Ya Chai, PhD

Assistant Research Professor of Radiology & Imaging Sciences

Address
GH 4100
RADY
IN
Indianapolis, IN

Bio

Dr. Chai's research centers on the integration of multimodal neuroimaging (e.g., MRI, EEG) and precision medicine approaches to understand the neural mechanisms underlying sleep disturbances, depression, and cognitive decline in the context of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Dr. Chai’s work focuses on identifying neuropsychiatric symptoms—particularly sleep disturbances and anxious-depressive symptoms—as early indicators and modifiable risk factors for AD. She investigates their associations with amyloid-β and tau pathology, large-scale functional brain networks, and cognitive trajectories across the AD continuum. Additionally, Dr. Chai explores connectome-based subtypes of depression and their implications for symptom-specific interventions, as well as the cognitive and neural consequences of sleep deprivation and recovery sleep.

Dr. Chai received her joint Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging from the University of Pennsylvania and Sun Yat-sen University. She previously held academic positions at Indiana University’s Department of Psychiatry and Shanghai International Studies University. Her research has been published in leading journals including PNAS, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Sleep, NeuroImage, and Nature Mental Health.

Her long-term goal is to advance precision medicine approaches that delay or prevent the onset of AD by targeting heterogeneous neuropsychiatric profiles prior to clinical diagnosis. Dr. Chai has mentored both Ph.D. and undergraduate students, contributed to large-scale AD biomarker initiatives (e.g., ADNI, KBASE2), and serves as a reviewer for over 20 scientific journals.

Key Publications

1.  Chai Y, Shokri-Kojori E, Saykin AJ, Yu M. Anxious-Depressive Symptoms and Sleep Disturbances across the Alzheimer's Disease Spectrum. Nat. Mental Health 2025; 3:594–612.

2.  Chai Y, Gehrman P, Yu M, Mao T, Deng Y, Rao J, Shi H, Quan P, Xu J, Zhang X, Lei H, Fang Z, Xu S, Boland E, Goldschmied JR, Barilla H, Goel N, Basner M, Thase ME, Sheline YI, Dinges DF, Detre JA, Zhang X, Rao H. Enhanced amygdala-cingulate connectivity associates with better mood in both healthy and depressive individuals after sleep deprivation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2023; 120(26): e2214505120.

3.  Chai Y, Sheline YI, Oathes DJ, Balderston NL, Rao H, Yu M. Functional connectomics in depression: insights into therapies. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2023; 27(9): 814-832.

4.  Chai Y, Chimelis-Santiago JR, Bixler KA, Aalsma M, Yu M, Hulvershorn LA. Sex-specific frontal-striatal connectivity differences among adolescents with externalizing disorders. NeuroImage: Clinical 2021; 32: 102789.

5.  Chai Y, Fang Z, Yang FN, Xu S, Deng Y, Raine A, Wang J, Yu M, Basner M, Goel N, Kim JJ, Wolk DA, Detre JA, Dinges DF, Rao H. Two nights of recovery sleep restores hippocampal connectivity but not episodic memory after total sleep deprivation. Scientific Reports 2020; 10(1): 8774. 

6.  Mao T, Chai Y, Bowen G, Peng Q, Rao H. Sleep architecture and sleep EEG alterations is associated with impaired cognition under sleep restriction. Nature and Science of Sleep 2023; 15: 823-838.

7.  Yang FN, Xu S, Chai Y, Basner M, Dinges DF, Rao H. Sleep deprivation enhances inter-stimulus interval effect on vigilant attention performance. Sleep 2018; 41(12): zsy189.

8.  Mao T, Fang Z, Chai Y, Deng Y, Rao J, Quan P, Goel N, Basner M, Guo B, Dinges DF, Liu J, Detre JA, Rao H. Sleep deprivation attenuates neural responses to outcomes from risky decision-making. Psychophysiology 2023; 31: e14465.

9.  Lei H, Huang Y, Chai Y, Zhang X. Social Media Disorder, Mental Health, and Validation of the Chinese Version of 27-item Social Media Disorder Scale in Chinese College Students. Frontiers in Public Health 2022; 10: 942720.

10. Zhao W, Rao J, Wang R, Chai Y, Mao T, Quan P, Deng Y, Chen W, Wang S, Guo B, Zhang Q, Rao H. Test-retest reliability of coupling between cerebrospinal fluid flow and global brain activity after normal sleep and sleep deprivation. NeuroImage 2025; 309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121097.

11. Mao T, Guo B, Quan P, Deng Y, Chai Y, Xu J, Jiang C, Zhang Q, Lu Y, Goel N, Basner M, Dinges DF, Rao H. Morning resting hypothalamus-dorsal striatum connectivity predicts individual differences in diurnal sleepiness accumulation, NeuroImage 2024; 299: 120833.

12. Guo B, Mao T, Tao R, Fu S, Deng Y, Liu Z, Wang M, Wang R, Zhao W, Chai Y, Jiang C, Rao H. Test-retest reliability and time-of-day variations of perfusion imaging at rest and during a vigilance task. Cerebral Cortex 2024; 34(5): bhae212.

13. Zhang X, Wang X, Dong D, Sun X, Zhong X, Xiong G, Cheng C, Lei H, Chai Y, Yu M, Quan P, Gehrman PR, Detre JA, Yao S, Rao H. Persistent ventral anterior cingulate cortex and resolved amygdala hyper-responses to negative outcomes after depression remission: a combined cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Biological Psychiatry 2023; 93(3): 268-278.

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