Yulong Li
Speaker
Peking University | China
Dr. Yulong Li, a professor at the School of Life Sciences, Peking University, is a researcher at the PKU-THU Center for Life Sciences, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at PKU, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory. He got his B.S. from Peking University and his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Duke University, followed by postdoctoral research at Stanford University. Since 2012, he established his lab at Peking University. His research centers on the ‘synapse’, the fundamental unit for the communication between neurons. He carries two layers of research: first, he develops cutting-edge research tools, namely advanced imaging probes, to untangle the complexity of the nervous system in space and in time; second, capitalizing on the advancement of research toolkits, he studies the regulation of synaptic transmission, focusing on the modulation of presynaptic transmitter release in health and disease conditions. His research group has successfully developed a series of novel genetically encoded optical probes called GPCR Activation-Based (GRAB) sensors for imaging neuromodulators such as acetylcholine, monoamines, purines, lipids, and neuropeptides. These probes have allowed, probably for the first time, rapid, chemical- and cell-specific in vivo detection in multiple organisms ranging from flies, zebrafish, and mice to songbirds.
