El-Wui Loh, Ph.D.
Assistant Investigator
Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Research
E-mail: eloh@nhri.org.tw
Education


Ph.D., Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College of Medicine and Dentistry,
University of London, UK,2003
B.S., School of Medical Technology, Yang Ming Medical College,1992
Professional Experiences
Current
 Assistant Investigator, Division of Mental Health And Substance Abuse
Research, National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan
 Member of Institute Review Board, DOH-Yuli Hospital.
 Vice Commissioner, Taipei Overseas Peace Service, Chinese Human Rights
Association, Taiwan.
 Member of the Task Force for Developing Country, World Federation of
Societies of Biological Psychiatry
Previous
 Associate Director, National Genotyping Center at Academia Sinica.
 Special Assistant, Biobank Taiwan
 Post Doctoral Research Worker of the GENESIS project, Institute of
Psychiatry, University of London.
Research Interests
1
Biochemistry,immunology and genetics of addiction and schizophrenia.
Research Activities & Accomplishment
Dr. Loh represents one of the researchers who first found an important role of
GABAergic system in the development of alcoholism. His Ph.D. study has yielded
several compatible papers reporting association of GABA receptor subunit genes
with the development of alcoholism which are frequently cited. His primary
project in NHRI between 2004-2008 is- Pharmacogenetic Profiling of
Antipsychotics-induced X-syndrome and Diabetes (PAXD). This project has
yielded a 24 months follow-up data on 400 schizophrenic patients. His new
mission from 2009 onward will be a biological study on heroin and methadone.
Honors & Awards
 1996~1999 Awarded the Scholarship of the Peacock Foundation, London.
 1996-2001 Awarded the Scholarship of the Psychiatric Research Trust, Institute
of Psychiatry, University of London.
Publications/ including books , chapters, journal articles
1:
Chen WJ, Loh EW, Hsu YP, Chen CC, Yu JM, Cheng AT.
Alcohol-metabolising genes and alcoholism among Taiwanese Han men:
independent effect of ADH2, ADH3 and ALDH2. Br J Psychiatry. 1996
Jun;168(6):762-7.
2: Hsu YP, Loh EW, Chen WJ, Chen CC, Yu JM, Cheng AT. Association of
monoamine oxidase A alleles with alcoholism among male Chinese in Taiwan. Am
J Psychiatry. 1996 Sep;153(9):1209-11.
3: Chen WJ, Loh EW, Hsu YP, Cheng AT. Alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde
dehydrogenase genotypes and alcoholism among Taiwanese aborigines. Biol
Psychiatry. 1997 Mar 15;41(6):703-9.
4: Cheng AT, Loh EW, Cheng CY, Wang YC, Hsu YP. Polymorphisms and
intron sequences flanking the alternatively spliced 8-amino-acid exon of gamma2
subunit gene for GABAA receptors. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1997 Sep
18;238(2):683-5.
5: Hsu YP, Seow SV, Loh EW, Wang YC, Chen CC, Yu JM, Cheng AT. Search
for mutations near the alternatively spliced 8-amino-acid exon in the GABAA
receptor gamma 2 subunit gene and lack of allelic association with alcoholism
2
among four aboriginal groups and Han Chinese in Taiwan. Brain Res Mol Brain
Res. 1998 May;56(1-2):284-6.
6: Sander T, Ball D, Murray R, Patel J, Samochowiec J, Winterer G,
Rommelspacher H, Schmidt LG, Loh EW. Association analysis of sequence
variants of GABA(A) alpha6, beta2, and gamma2 gene cluster and alcohol
dependence. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1999 Mar;23(3):427-31. (last &
corresponding)
7: Loh EW, Smith I, Murray R, McLaughlin M, McNulty S, Ball D. Association
between variants at the GABAAbeta2, GABAAalpha6 and GABAAgamma2 gene
cluster and alcohol dependence in a Scottish population. Mol Psychiatry. 1999
Nov;4(6):539-44. Erratum in: Mol Psychiatry 2000 Jul;5(4):452.
8: Loh EW, Ball D. Role of the GABA(A)beta2, GABA(A)alpha6,
GABA(A)alpha1 and GABA(A)gamma2 receptor subunit genes cluster in drug
responses and the development of alcohol dependence. Neurochem Int. 2000
Nov-Dec;37(5-6):413-23.
9: Loh EW, Higuchi S, Matsushita S, Murray R, Chen CK, Ball D. Association
analysis of the GABA(A) receptor subunit genes cluster on 5q33-34 and alcohol
dependence in a Japanese population. Mol Psychiatry. 2000 May;5(3):301-7.
10: Koch HG, McClay J, Loh EW, Higuchi S, Zhao JH, Sham P, Ball D, Craig
IW. Allele association studies with SSR and SNP markers at known physical
distances within a 1 Mb region embracing the ALDH2 locus in the Japanese,
demonstrates linkage disequilibrium extending up to 400 kb. Hum Mol Genet. 2000
Dec (20):2993-9.
11: Chang YT, Sun HS, Fann CS, Chang CJ, Liao ZH, Huang JL, Loh EW, Yu
WY, Cheng AT. Association of the gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor gene
cluster with alcohol dependence in Taiwanese Han. Mol Psychiatry.
2002 ;7(8):828-9.
12: Li T, Liu X, Zhao J, Hu X, Ball DM, Loh EW, Sham PC, Collier DA. Allelic
association analysis of the dopamine D2, D3, 5-HT2A, and GABA(A)gamma2
receptors and serotonin transporter genes with heroin abuse in Chinese subjects. Am
J Med Genet. 2002 Apr 8;114(3):329-35.
13: Lin SK, Chen CK, Ball D, Liu HC, Loh EW. Gender-specific contribution of
the GABA(A) subunit genes on 5q33 in methamphetamine use disorder.
Pharmacogenomics J. 2003;3(6):349-55. (last and corresponding)
14: Chen CK, Lin SK, Sham PC, Ball D, Loh EW, Hsiao CC, Chiang YL, Ree
SC, Lee CH, Murray RM. Pre-morbid characteristics and co-morbidity of
methamphetamine users with and without psychosis. Psychol Med. 2003
Nov;33(8):1407-14.
15: Loh EW, Fann CS, Chang YT, Chang CJ, Cheng, ATA. Endogenous Opioid
Receptor Genes and Alcohol Dependence Among Taiwanese Han. Alcoholism:
3
Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2004 Jan 28(1):15-19.
16: Li T, Chen CK, Hu X, Ball D, Lin SK, Chen W, Sham PC, Loh EW, Murray
RM, Collier DA. Association analysis of the DRD4 and COMT genes in
methamphetamine abuse. Am J Med Genet. 2004 Aug 15;129B(1):120-4.
17: Foley PF, Loh EW, Innes DJ, Williams SM, Tannenberg AE, Harper CG, Dodd
PR. Association studies of neurotransmitter gene polymorphisms in alcoholic
Caucasians. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2004 Nov;1025:39-46.
18: Chen CK, Lin SK, Sham PC, Ball D, Loh EW, Murray RM. Morbid risk for
psychiatric disorder among the relatives of methamphetamine users with and
without psychosis. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2005 Jul
5;136(1):87-91.
19: Crews FT, Buckley T, Dodd PR, Ende G, Foley N, Harper C, He J, Innes D,
Loh EW, Pfefferbaum A, Zou J, Sullivan EV. Alcoholic neurobiology: changes in
dependence and recovery. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2005 Aug;29(8):1504-13.
20: Buckley ST, Foley PF, Innes DJ, Loh EW, Shen Y, Williams SM, Harper CG,
Tannenberg AE, Dodd PR. GABA(A) receptor beta isoform protein expression in
human alcoholic brain: interaction with genotype. Neurochem Int. 2006
Nov;49(6):557-67.
21: Nakamura K, Chen CK, Sekine Y, Iwata Y, Anitha A, Loh EW, Takei N,
Suzuki A, Kawai M, Takebayashi K, Suzuki K, Minabe Y, Tsuchiya K, Yamada K,
Iyo M, Ozaki N, Inada T, Iwata N, Harano M, Komiyama T, Yamada M, Sora I,
Ujike H, Ball DM, Yoshikawa T, Lin SK, Mori N. Association analysis of SOD2
variants with methamphetamine psychosis in Japanese and Taiwanese populations.
Hum Genet. 2006 Sep;120(2):243-52.
22: Loh EW, Lane HY, Chen CH, Chang PS, Ku LW, Wang KHT, Cheng
ATA.Glutamate decarboxylase genes and alcoholism in Han Taiwanese men.
Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2006 Nov;30(11):1817-23.
(highlighted article, also reported by Reuter's News Agency)
23: EW Loh, TH Lan. The Future of Pharmacogenetics in Clinical
practice-Wonderful but Needs Further Clarifications. Journal of Molecular Genetics
and Biology (non SCI, Taiwan Academic journal). 2007 March; 18(1): 14-17.
24: Loh EW, Cheng ATA. Alcoholism is not only an inheritable disease. Scientific
America (Chinese version) 2007 May; 63: 70-73.
25: EW Loh, NLS Tang, DTS Lee, SI Liu and A Stadlin. Association Analysis of
GABA Receptor Subunit genes on 5q33 with Heroin Dependence in a Chinese Male
Population. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric
Genetics. 2007 June; 144B:439–443.
26: Lin Y, Sun IW, Liu SI, Loh EW, Lin YC. Tacrolimus ointment-induced
relapse of schizophrenia: a case report. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2007
4
Dec;10(6):851-854.
27: TH Lan, EW Loh, MS Wu, TM Hu, HJ Chiu. Performance of a Neuro-Fuzzy
Model in Predicting Weight Changes of Chronic Schizophrenic patients exposed to
Antipsychotics. In print on Molecular Psychiatry 2008.
Patents
 N/A
5