Qian Wang

Qian received her Bachelor's degree from Shandong University in China, and a Master's degree from University of Missouri.

During her PhD training at Johns Hopkins University, Qian worked with Dr. King-Wai Yau in the Department of Neuroscience to study a novel class of photoreceptors in the iris of the eye.

Currently, she is combining mouse genetics with pathway-specific labeling to dissect the functional organization of the brainstem to spinal cord pain modulatory pathway.

Manuel Mohr

Manuel is trained as a biotechnologist and protein biochemist. His passion lies in building molecular tools for systems neuroscience.

Manuel received a Bachelor degree in molecular biotechnology from Technical University Munich (TUM) in Germany and a Master degree in biotechnology and systems biology from ETH Zurich. During his PhD he conducted research in the Nano-Bio-Imaging lab of Professor Pantazis at ETH Zurich and as a Janelia Graduate Research Fellow in the groups of Eric Schreiter and Loren Looger at the HHMI Janelia Research Campus performing fluorescent protein engineering for applications in developmental and neurobiology.

He is spearheading the Chen lab’s virus design efforts and in collaboration with imaging experts at the UC Berkeley, he is using next generation multi-photon imaging techniques to unravel functional circuit architecture in the mouse spinal cord.

Lei Yuan

Lei Yuan earned his bachelor degree in 2012 at Huazhong University of Science and Technology and his PhD in neurobiology in 2018 at the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His main thesis work was to investigate the mechanisms underlying the modulation of itch behaviour by dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area.

In the Chen lab, he focuses on dissecting neural circuits underlying delayed gratification and its contribution to drug addiction.

Xiaolin Chou

XIAOLIN RECEIVED HIS BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCEs FROM FUDAN UNIVERSITY IN CHINA, WHERE HE STUDIED VISUAL PROCESSING IN the cat PRIMARY VISUAL CORTEX. HE CONTInUED TO STUDY NEUROSCIENCE OUT OF his PASSION TO UNDERSTAND BOTH THE COMPLEXITY AND BEAUTY OF BRAIN CIRCUITRY.

HE EARNED HIS PHD AT UNIVERSiTY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WHERE HE WORKED WITH DR. HUIZHONG W. TAO & DR. LI I ZHANG TO INVESTIGATE THE NEURAL CIRCUITRY FOR THE CONTROL AND MODULATION OF DEFENSIVE BEHAVIORS, AS WELL AS THE INFLUENCE OF BEHAVIORAL STATES ON VISUAL AND AUDITORY CORTICAL PROCESSING WITH OPTOGENETICS, NEURAL TRACING, AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDINGS.

AFTER JOINING the CHEN LAB, HE FOCUSED ON COMBINING PATHWAY MANIPULATION AND IN-VIVO CALCIUM IMAGING TO DISSECT THE FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE PARAVENTRICULAR NUCLEUS OF THE THALAMUS DURING DIFFERENT BEHAVIORAL AND EMOTIONAL STATES.

John Lin King

Prior to joining the Chen lab, John earned a B.A. in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco. At UCSF he trained with David Julius, using molecular physiology and biophysics techniques to describe the activation mechanisms of one of the body’s key chemical sensors, TRPA1, also known as the Wasabi Receptor. Currently, he is researching how the brain’s sensory capacities have evolved to shape behaviors.