The Niu research group is multidisciplinary, combining biochemistry, electrophysiology, molecular biology, molecular folding/docking, and neuroscience to study significant problems in human health. A major focus of our current study is on glutamate ion channel proteins. These channel proteins are indispensable to brain activities such as learning and memory, and malfunction of these proteins has been implicated in neurological diseases such as ALS, stroke, epilepsy, and neuropathic pain. We are working on project areas with broader impact potential, such as structure-function relationship of glutamate ion channels and drug discovery, by developing RNA aptamers and small-molecule regulatory agents (i.e., both positive and negative regulators) as potential drug candidates. RNA hydrogel becomes one of the projects stemmed from our discovery that an RNA aptamer discovered in our group is capable of self-assembling into RNA hydrogel. We are also testing highly potent and highly selective RNA aptamers we have discovered with animal models of human diseases, e.g., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal cord induced neuropathic pain, through tissue and behavioral studies.