Yang Yang

Biography

Dr. Yang Yang graduated from Zhejiang University in 2005 majoring Biomedical engineering, and obtained her PhD degree in Neuroscience from Stony Brook University in 2010. She conducted her thesis work in Dr. Anthony M. Zador’s lab in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. She then joined Dr. Mu-ming Poo’s lab in 2011 as a postdoctoral fellow, and became Associate Investigator in 2015. She joined ShanghaiTech in June, 2017 as assistant professor and principle investigator.

Research Interest

Memory makes us who we are. The neural basis of learning and memory has always been a major research topic in neuroscience. Despite lack of neurogenesis, adult neocortex constantly goes through learning-induced synaptic remodeling, providing a mechanism for learning throughout life. In my lab, we use fear conditioning and reinforcement learning as the behavioral model, combine two-photon imaging with two-photon holographic optogenetic stimulation and genetic manipulations, to investigate neural circuit dynamics and plasticity underlying learning and memory, and how they are affected by neural modulatory systems. Eventually, we hope to understand how psychiatric disorders disrupt neural circuits and affect learning ability.