I'm using fruit flies to understand how a group of ion channels called TRP channels contribute to sensory signal transduction. Over the time of doing this work, my interest has extended to neural mechanisms of perception, especially the mechanisms by which developmentally programmed neural circuits process specific sensory stimuli and initiate behavioral responses to the stimuli. I also have a general interest in biology, and I have a side research project on a particular ion channel involved in lipid metabolism of fruit flies.
Within this graduate program I have numerous opportunities to learn from faculty and students in the track of cognitive neuroscience. Their perspectives on how the brain works often help me be aware of the big pictures of neuroscience today. Iowa City is much smaller than my hometown in China, but it has generously offered me a venue to know people and see things, in a friendly and peaceful way. The years spent here are worth remembering.
“I came to Iowa from the east coast because I wanted to learn cutting-edge approaches to studying complex human behaviors, from investigators with a proven track record in cognitive neuroscience, in a supportive and extremely collaborative environment.”