Areas of Focus
- Utilizing model organisms like fruit flies and mice to explore the biological mechanisms of learning, memory, and forgetting. Developing potential therapeutic drugs for memory-related diseases and understanding the deep mechanisms of biological intelligence to inspire research in artificial intelligence.
Work Experience
- 1992-1998 - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - Assistant Professor
- 1998-2004 - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - Associate Professor
- 2004-2013 - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - Professor
- 2001-2013 - Tsinghua University, School of Life Sciences - Part-time Professor
- 2013-Present - Tsinghua University, School of Life Sciences - Professor
Academic Background & Achievements
- 1978-1982 Bachelor: Tsinghua University, Department of Engineering Physics
- 1982-1985 Master: Tsinghua University, Department of Biological Science and Technology
- 1985-1991 PhD: University of Iowa, Department of Biological Sciences
Publications
- Social experiences switch states of memory engrams through regulating hippocampal Rac1 activity, Lei, B., Lv, L., Hu, S., Tang, Y., and Zhong, Y*., 2022
- Adult newborn granule cells confer emotional state-dependent adaptability in memory retrieval, Lei, B., Kang, B., Lin, W., Chen, H., Hao, Y., Ma, J., Shi, S., and Zhong, Y*., 2022
- Interplay between alpha2-chimaerin and Rac1 activity determines dynamic maintenance of long-term memory, Lv, L., Liu, Y., Xie, J., Wu, Y., Zhao, J., Li, Q., and Zhong, Y*., 2019
- Active Protection: Learning-Activated Raf/MAPK Activity Protects Labile Memory from Rac1-Independent Forgetting, Zhang, X., Li, Q., Wang, L., Liu, Z.J., and Zhong, Y*., 2018
- Inability to activate Rac1-dependent forgetting contributes to behavioral inflexibility in mutants of multiple autism-risk genes, Dong, T., He, J., Wang, S., Wang, L., Cheng, Y., and Zhong, Y*., 2016
- Epidermal growth factor receptor is a preferred target for treating amyloid-beta-induced memory loss, Wang, L., Chiang, H.C., Wu, W., Liang, B., Xie, Z., Yao, X., Ma, W., Du, S., and Zhong, Y*., 2012
- Forgetting Is Regulated through Rac Activity in Drosophila, Shuai, Y.C., Lu, B.Y., Hu, Y., Wang, L.Z., Sun, K., and Zhong, Y*., 2010
- The Phosphatase SHP2 Regulates the Spacing Effect for Long-Term Memory Induction, Pagani, M.R., Oishi, K., Gelb, B.D., and Zhong, Y*., 2009
Awards
- 1994-1997: Pew Biomedical Scholar
