Yao Chen is an Assistant Professor in Neuroscience, and affiliated member in Biomedical Engineering, Cell Biology and Physiology, and Electrical and Systems Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. During her Ph.D. in John Flanagan’s laboratory at Harvard University, she contributed to developmental neurobiology by elucidating mechanisms that establish the correct pattern of neural mapping cues during brain wiring. As a postdoc in Bernardo Sabatini’s laboratory at Harvard Medical School, she developed optical reporters and built fluorescence lifetime-based systems to visualize molecular signals, in both live brain slices and freely moving mice. Using the reporters, she uncovered new principles in neuromodulator actions. In her laboratory at Washington University, her team aims to develop new technology and use these novel tools to uncover the spatiotemporal dynamics of biochemical signals and investigate how these previously unknown features contribute to sleep, learning, and functions of neuromodulators.

"Molecular Ballet: Decoding Biochemical Signaling Dynamics in the Brain"