1991-            BS in Biochemistry, Jilin University

1994-            MS in Molecular Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

2003             Ph.D in Molecular Cell Biology, Washington University in St. Louis

2003 - 2009  Postdoctoral Scholar, HHMI and UCLA

2009 -           Principal Investigator, CAS Institute of Biophysics

My group is interested in understanding:

1. The formation of neural circuitry, by investigating the molecular mechanisms that direct the development of complex and previously inaccessible higher-order regions of the Drosophila visual system.

2. The molecular and cellular basis of how neural circuits mediate complex animal behavior, by systematically mapping neural circuits underlying vision and other sensory perceptions.

3. How diseases and genetic mutations affect the development and function of the nervous system. 

1. Zhan Yin Peng, Liu Li, Zhu Yan. Taotie neurons regulate appetite in Drosophila. Nature communications 2016;7:13633. doi:10.1038/ncomms13633

2. Qiu Rong, Sun Yuanjie, Liu Li, Zhu Yan. (2016) Higher brain functions in Drosophila. Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2016;43(4):330-336. doi:10.16476/j.pibb.2016.0096

3. Ji Feiteng, Zhu Yan. A novel assay reveals hygrotactic behavior in Drosophila. PloS one 2015;10(3):e0119162. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119162

4. Wang Guang-Zhong, Marini Simone, Ma Xinyun, Yang Qiang, Zhang Xuegong, Zhu Yan. Improvement of Dscam homophilic binding affinity throughout Drosophila evolution. BMC evolutionary biology 2014;14:186. doi:10.1186/s12862-014-0186-z

5. Zhu Yan. The Drosophila visual system: From neural circuits to behavior. Cell adhesion & migration 2013;7(4):333-344 . doi:10.4161/cam.25521

6. Zhu Y*, Frye MA (2009) Neurogenetics and the 'fly stampede': dissecting neural circuits involved in visual behaviors. Fly (extra view), in press

7. Zhu Y, Nern A, Zipursky SL, Frye MA. Peripheral visual circuits functionally segregate motion and phototaxis behaviors in the fly. Current Biology 2009, 19(7):613-619.

8. Nern A, Zhu Y, Zipursky SL. Local N-cadherin interactions mediate distinct steps in the targeting of lamina neurons. Neuron 2008, 58(1):34-41.

9. Duistermars B, Zhu Y, and Frye M. Dynamic properties of large-field and small-field optomotor responses in Drosophila. J. Comp. Physic. 2007, 193(7):787-99.

10. Zhu Y, Yu T, Rao Y. Temporal regulation of cerebellar EGL migration through a switch in cellular responsiveness to the meninges. Developmental Biology 2004, 267(1):153-64.

11. Zhu Y, Yu T, Zhang XC, Nagasawa T, Wu JY and Rao Y. Role of the chemokine SDF-1 as the meningeal attractant for embryonic cerebellar neurons. Nature Neuroscience 2002, 5(8):719-20.

12. Zhu, Y*, Li, H.S.*, Zhou, L, Wu, JY, and Rao Y. Cellular and molecular guidance of GABAergic neuronal migration from an extra-cortical origin to the neocortex. Neuron 1999, 23: 473-485.

13. Miskevich F*, Zhu Y*, Ranscht B, Sanes JR. Expression of multiple cadherins and catenins in the chick optic tectum. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience 1998, 12(4-5):240-55.

(From Yan Zhu, January 8, 2014)