xinyu zhao-凯发k8
assistant professor
2003-2007, tsinghua university, bachelor of science
2007-2009, tsinghua university, master of science
2009-2014, northwestern university, u.s.a., ph.d.
2014-2021, janelia research campus, howard hughes medical institute, u.s.a., postdoctoral associate/research scientist
2022-present, school of life sciences, tsinghua university, assistant professor
2022-present, tsinghua-peking center for life sciences, idg/mcgovern institute for brain research, tsinghua university, principal investigator
research interest
how does the brain learn? with a combination of experimental and computational approaches, we primarily focus on two questions: 1. what is the algorithm that updates connection weights between neurons during learning? 2. how does a neural network transfer its previously learned knowledge to new tasks? we will investigate these questions in mice with multi-disciplinary technologies, including electrophysiology, imaging, optogenetics, computational neuroscience, and machine learning. we believe in a positive feedback loop between experimental and computational studies, which will eventually facilitate both the understanding of the brain and the development of novel artificial intelligent systems.
selected publications
1. zhao x*, hsu cl* and spruston n. rapid synaptic plasticity contributes to a learned conjunctive code of position and choice-related information in the hippocampus. neuron. 2021 (in press) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.003
2. sun w*, zhao x* and spruston n. bursting potentiates the neuro–ai connection. nature neuroscience. 2021 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-021-00844-2
3. zhao x, wang y, spruston n & magee j. membrane potential dynamics underlying context-dependent sensory responses in the hippocampus. nature neuroscience. 2020. 23(5):881-891
4. zhao x*, liu m* and cang j. visual cortex modulates the magnitude but not the selectivity of looming-evoked responses in the superior colliculus of awake mice. neuron. 2014. 84(1):202-213
5. zhao x, chen h, liu x and cang j. orientation-selective responses in the mouse lateral geniculate nucleus. journal of neuroscience. 2013. 33(31):12751-63
6. zhao x, liu m and cang j. sublinear binocular integration preserves orientation selectivity in mouse visual cortex. nature communication. 2013. 4:2088.
awards
howard hughes medical institute international student research fellowship (2012-2014)
northwestern-funded t32 training grant (2010-2011)
contact
lab website: zhaoxylab.mysxl.cn
email:
address: biomedical building room b404, tsinghua university, beijing, china, 100084
