Our Team
Yu Mu, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Guixian ZHOU
Lab Manager
B.S. Shanghai Ocean University
M.S. Shanghai Ocean University
gxzhou@ion.ac.cn
I’m Guixian Zhou. The main focuses of my previous research are aquatic animal disease and control, including aquatic animal pathogenic microbiology, aquatic environmental microbiology, and safe use of fishery drugs.
I established the zebrafish facility in our lab. As a newcomer to the neuroscience field, I’m interested in studying animal behavior using zebrafish as a model. In the new journey of my career, I’m ready to learn from my colleagues, improve my academic performance, and contribute to the lab as a family.
Shan ZHAO
Graduate Student
B.S. Southeast University
szhao@ion.ac.cn
My name is Shan Zhao and I am a 2019 student of the ION. In 2015-2019, I majored in bioengineering at Southeast University. After learned about the field of neurobiology, I felt that using the brain to study the brain was a cool thing. So for my thesis, I started a project with optogenetics. I found that exploring the neural circuits underlying specific behaviors was very attractive to me. In 2020, I am honored to be the first student in Mu lab. In the next few years, in addition to wanting to gain more professional knowledge, I also hope to be able to build together with everyone who will enter the laboratory a harmonious laboratory atmosphere.
Sijia WANG
Graduate Student
B.S. Nanjing University
sjwang@ion.ac.cn
My name is Sijia Wang, and I am a graduate student at the Institute of Neuroscience (ION). I graduated in 2020 from the School of Life Science at Nanjing University. During my undergraduate studies, I participated in two short-term international programs: the China-Russian Baikal International Joint Scientific Investigation through Nanjing University, and the Summer School at Regent's Park College, Oxford University. My current research interests are neuromodulatory systems and glial cells. In my spare time, I enjoy running, reading, and practicing calligraphy.
Kui WANG
Postdoctoral Associate
B.S. South China Agricultural University
Ph.D. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
wangk@ion.ac.cn
Dr. Kui Wang developed tryptophan sensors during his Ph.D. studies. His major research interests include developing new fluorescent sensors and studying experience-dependent synaptic modifications through in vivo imaging.
Shilin FANG
Research Assistant
B.S. Shanghai Ocean University
M.S. Shanghai Ocean University
fangsl@@ion.ac.cn
Fang Shilin has a keen interest in the natural sciences and has been involved in various disciplines over the past few years, including microbiology, pharmacology, and fish physiology. Now drawn to unlocking the mysteries of neuroscience, Fang is in charge of generating transgenic zebrafish with newly developed fluorescent sensors. Excited about the opportunity to use zebrafish to explore the complexity of the brain, Fang aims to make meaningful contributions to the field of neuroscience.
Danyang LI
Graduate Student
B.S. University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
ldy@ion.ac.cn
“Brains empower brains.”
This is Danyang Li, a graduate student of ION.
She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2020 and is currently working on whole-brain sensory encoding and modeling encoding strategies.
Xinxin ZHANG
Graduate Student
B.S. Anhui Agricultural University
zhangxx2020@ion.ac.cn
I have been a joint graduate student at ShanghaiTech University and the Institute of Neuroscience (ION) since 2020. I earned my bachelor's degree in Life Sciences from Anhui Agricultural University. I've always been interested in how emotions affect people's behavioral decisions. Currently, I am leveraging the zebrafish model to study both the gut and brain nervous systems.
I am very happy to join this lively group and hope to make great discoveries with everyone in our lab!
Zhiyuan WANG
Graduate Student
B.S. Nanjing University
wangzy2021@ion.ac.cn
Brain, the final frontier.
These are the voyages of graduate Wang Zhi-Yuan, who studied physics as an undergraduate.
His five-year mission, to explore strange new fishes, to seek out new phenomena and paradigms. Specifically, he aims to understand how signals arising from individual neurons propagate across the vast universe of the brain and the mathematical rules governing such voyages of action potentials.
To boldly go where no one has gone before.
Jingyao HUANG
Graduate Student
B.S. Fudan University
huangjy2021@ion.ac.cn
Graduated from Fudan University. Majored in Bioscience. Interested in Instruments.
The brain is the physical vessel of thoughts, and thoughts are the starting point for transforming the world. Therefore, brain science could be the bridge connecting fundamental natural sciences with abstract humanities. Given the brain's complexity, it may be wiser to utilize easily controlled, transparent zebrafish brains as a stepping stone for climbing this tower.
Embracing the ambitious nature of brain science and the suitability of zebrafish as a model organism, I aspire to be the dedicated researcher scaling this challenging tower. I aim to understand how temperature sensation is processed across the brain and its role in navigation.
Happy to be a member of Mulab and work with those amazing people : )
Xiao’ou WANG
Graduate Student
B.S. University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
wangxo2022@ion.ac.cn
“There are two most attractive problems in the world which deserve human to discover: one is how to understand the universe, while the other one is why we have the ability to understand. I’m trying to answer the second one.”
Xiao’ou got his banchelor degree from School of Physical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, majoring in optics and optical engineering, and joint ION for his graduate education in 2022.
He has participated in several researches of new optical methods (ex. light-sheet microscopy, stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy, etc.) for brain imaging. Interesting in physical technology and computational neuroscience, he focus on developing new imaging tools and exploring physical models for whole-brain activity in larva fish in our lab.
Heying SHAN
Graduate Student
B.S. Nankai University
shanhy2022@ion.ac.cn
I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biology from Nankai University in Tianjin and am now a graduate student at the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), Institute of Neuroscience (ION).
While at Nankai University, I had the opportunity to conduct experiments on rats to investigate PTSD using electrophysiological recordings on behaving animals. After a few rewarding years in Tianjin, I moved to Beijing for an internship at the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), where I researched learning and memory in fruit flies.
Now, here I am in Shanghai, continuing my quest to understand the brain. My current interest lies in neural circuits and whole-brain models underlying history-dependent decision-making.
Haowen ZHANG
Graduate Student
B.S. Nankai University
zhanghw2022@ion.ac.cn
Haowen Zhang graduated from the College of Computer Science at Nankai University, where he gained skills in programming, machine learning, and other areas valuable for his current studies.
During his college years, he was impressed by brilliant works in brain simulation presented during invited talks regularly held by the college. These talks sparked his initial interest in computational neuroscience and led him to pursue further education in this direction.
At CEBSIT, Haowen looks forward to studying the biological brain through a mathematical lens to gain a deeper understanding of brain dynamics at different scales. Recognizing that he still has much to learn, he is currently applying knowledge from whole-brain single-neuron studies to artificial neural networks, aiming to improve network performance and understand the underlying mechanisms.
Yiran LIU
Graduate Student
(Co-supervised with Dr. Kai WANG)
B.S. Huazhong University of Science and Technology
liuyr2023@ion.ac.cn
I graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) with a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering. As a piano and Debussy lover, I view practicing piano as a perfect sensorimotor transformation—reading notes, pressing keys, listening to rhythms, and emotional tuning—which inspires me to explore the underlying architecture of these processes.
Currently, I'm interested in how different cues and conditions induce switches in behavioral paradigms. For example, how we transition between work, socializing, and rest throughout the day, and how animals adapt their behaviors to survive in an ever-changing world. Specifically, I'm fascinated by how factors like injury or negative stimuli influence choices like flight or freeze when facing predators.
Fish behavior can be astonishing—they have evolved far longer than us, so we shouldn't underestimate their wisdom!
Yuting MENG
Graduate Student
(Co-supervised with Dr. Kai WANG)
B.S. Huazhong University of Science and Technology
mengyuting@hust.edu.cn
What captivates me most is the exploration of the world and the discovery of myself, both of which converge perfectly in the field of neuroscience. By studying animal behavior and its underlying mechanisms, we unravel more about our own nature.
From my undergraduate years to the present, curiosity has led me to work with C. elegans, fruit flies, and mice, spanning from Huazhong University of Science and Technology to the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. I have gained abundant knowledge from these experiences.
Currently, zebrafish have caught my interest. By employing Light Field Microscopy, we can investigate the whole-brain activity of zebrafish during free-moving behavior. I look forward to gaining more insights from this fascinating animal and our amazing technology.
Alumni
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Research Assistant
Xinhu ZHANG (Oxford)
Hao GAO (Didi)
Can LIU (UCSF)
Guangyao QI (Yale)
Yu QIAN (UT Austin)
Jiewen HU
Shuo YANG
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Intern
Jiale YIN
Peihuang TIAN
Dinglan WANG
Yan HUANG
Qing GU
Peiyu LIU
Xueying YANG
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Rotation Students
Jiawei LIU
Wenjun LIU
Haoyun XIAO
Xinglan LIU
Qihang WU
Zi‘an LUO
Huanghe YE
Jingze XU
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Visiting Scholar
Zhenfei JIAO (Zhong’an Semiconductor)
Sifan CHEN