Quan Wen, Ph.D.
EDUCATION AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
1997-2001, Fudan University, B.S.
2001-2007, Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Ph.D.
2008, HHMI Janelia Farm Research Campus, Postdoc
2009-2013, Harvard University, Postdoc
2014-present, Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China
RESEARCH INTERESTS
We are interested in understanding how collective activities in a neural circuit give rise to complex behaviors. To address this question, we strive to precisely describe the behavior of interest, to identify the neural computations that drive such behavior, and to elucidate the underlying biophysical mechanisms by which neurons and synapses implement such computations.
At current stage, we focus on using C. elegans as a model system to study the neural basis of sensorimotor behaviors. This millimeter long, optically translucent roundworm has only 302 neurons, for which the entire wiring diagram or connectome has been mapped out at synaptic resolution. Its genetic tractability also allows physiological access to virtually every neuron using optical methods. These advantages hold the promise of a deep understanding of sensorimotor transformation at both algorithmic and mechanistic levels.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS
1. Visual contrast modulates operant learning responses in larval zebrafish Wenbin Yang#, Yutong Meng, Danyang Li, Quan Wen#, Frontiers of Behavioral Neuroscience, in press.
2. Caenorhabditis elegans excitatory ventral cord motor neurons derive rhythm for body undulation Quan Wen#, Shangbang Gao#, Mei Zhen#, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 2018, 373: 20170370.
3. Descending pathway facilitates undulatory wave propagation in Caenorhabditis elegans through gap junctions Tianqi Xu*, Jin Huo*, Shuai Shao, Michelle Po, Taizo Kawano, Yangning Lu, Min Wu, Mei Zhen, Quan Wen#, PNAS, April 23 2018
4.Rapid whole brain imaging of neural activity in freely behaving larval zebrafish (Danio rerio)Lin Cong*, Zeguan Wang*, Yuming Chai*, Wei Hang*, Chunfeng Shang, Wenbing Yang, Lu Bai, Jiulin Du, Kai Wang#,Quan Wen#, eLife 2017;6:e28158
5.Dynamic encoding of perception, memory and movement in a C. elegans chemotaxis circuit Linjiao Luo*,Quan Wen*, Jing Ren*, Michael Hendricks*, Marc Gershow, Yuqi Qin, Joel Greenwood, Ed Soucy, Mason Klein, Heidi K Smith, Daniel Colon-Ramos, Aravinthan Samuel, Yun Zhang, Neuron 82, 1115-1128, June 4, 2014.
6.A statistical theory of dendritic morphology Quan Wen, invited book chapter in The Computing Dendrite, From Structure To Function. Springer Series in Computational Neuroscience, Vol. 11, 2014.
Website：http://www.wenlab.org
E-mail: qwen@ustc.edu.cn