Wei Zhang Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
2000-2004 School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, China B.S.
2004-2010 Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Ph.D.
2010-2016 Department of Physiology, University of California San Francisco, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Fellow
2017— Present School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University Principal Investigator
Peking-Tsinghua Joint Center for Life Sciences
IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Tsinghua University
Research interest
Brain-organ communications are controlled by complex neural and hormonal systems, and play a crucial role in maintaining the body's physiological and psychological homeostasis. Bodily sensation, or interoception not only extensively participates in the regulation of instinct behaviors, but also affects higher-order cognitive functions such as memory, emotion, and self-awareness. Our lab adopts the bottom-up pipeline of "Biophysics of Receptors - Cell Biology of Neurons - Functionality of Neural Circuits - Animal Behaviors" to explore the molecular and neural mechanisms of interoception.
Selected publications
Selected Publications
1. Chenxi Liu*, Wei Zhang*. Molecular basis of somatosensation in insects. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2022
2. Yinjun Jia*, Shuaishuai Li, Xuan Guo, Bo Lei, Junqiang Hu, Xiao-Hong Xu, Wei Zhang*, Selfee, self-supervised features extraction of animal behaviors. Elife, 2022
3. Liwei Zhang*#, Xuan Guo#, Wei Zhang*. Nutrients and pheromones promote insulin release to inhibit courtship drive. Science Advances. 2022
4. Tingting Yang, Zixuan Yuan, Chenxi Liu, Ting Liu, Wei Zhang*. A neural circuit integrates pharyngeal sensation to control feeding. Cell Reports. 2021.
5. Rui Luo, Yuxiang Zhang, Yinjun Jia, Yan Zhang, Zongyang Li, Jieqing Zhao, Ting Liu, Wei Zhang*. Molecular basis and homeostatic regulation of Zinc taste. Protein & Cell. 2021.
6. Philip Hehlert, Wei Zhang, Martin C Göpfert, Drosophila Mechanosensory Transduction, Trends in Neurosciences, Volume 44, Issue 4, 323 - 335
7. Pingping Wang, Yinjun Jia, Ting Liu, Yuh-Nung Jan*, Wei Zhang*. Visceral Mechano-sensing Neurons Control Drosophila Feeding by Using Piezo as a Sensor. Neuron. 2020.
8. Chenxi Liu, Bei Zhang, Liwei Zhang, Tingting Yang, Zhewei Zhang, Zihua Gao, Wei Zhang. A neural circuit encoding mating states tunes defensive behavior in Drosophila. Nature Communications. 2020.
9. Liwei Zhang#*, Jie Yu#, Xuan Guo, Jianhua Wei, Ting Liu, Wei Zhang*. Parallel mechanosensory pathways direct oviposition decision of Drosophila. Current Biology. 2020.
10. Yawen Li #, Yufei Hu#, Jiawei Wang, Xin Liu*, Wei Zhang*; Linfeng Sun*. Structural Insights into a Plant Mechanosensitive Ion Channel MSL1. Cell Reports. 2020.
11. Yufei Hu, Zhilin Wang, Ting Liu, Wei Zhang*. Piezo-like Gene Regulates Locomotion in Drosophila Larvae. Cell Reports. 2019.
Publications before joining Tsinghua
1. Zhang, W.*, Cheng, L.E.*, Kittelmann, M.*, Li, J., Petkovic, M., Cheng, T., Jin, P., Guo, Z., Göpfert, M., Jan, L.Y., Jan, Y.N. (2015). Ankyrin Repeats Act as a Tether for Conveying Force to Gate the NOMPC Mechanotransduction Channel. Cell. 10 September 2015, 162, Issue 6, p1391–1403. *: Co-first authors.
2. Zhang, W*., Yan, Z.*, Li, B., Jan, Y.L., Jan, Y.N. (2014). Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvae. eLife. 2014; 10.7554/eLife.03293. *: Co-first authors.
3. Zhang, W., Yan, Z., Jan, Y.L., Jan, Y.N. (2013). Sound response mediated by the TRP channels NOMPC, NANCHUNG, and INACTIVE in chordotonal organs of Drosophila larvae. P.N.A.S. vol. 110, no. 33.
4. Yan, Z.*, Zhang, W.*, He, Y., Gorczyca, D., Xiang, Y., Cheng, L., Meltzer, S., Jan, Y.L., Jan, Y.N. (2013). Drosophila NompC is a mechanotransduction channel subunit for gentle-touch sensation. Nature. 2013 Jan 10; 493(7431): 221-5. *: Co-first authors.
Contact information
Tel: +86-10-62790589
E-mail: weizhang0505@126.com
