Project: Two-photon all-optical interrogation of synaptic plasticity in action
Laboratory:
Biographical Information:
Qing earned her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Lehigh University, where she worked with Dr. Xiaoji Xu to advance nano-scale infrared (IR) techniques beyond Abbe’s diffraction limit by integrating atomic force microscope (AFM) with IR laser systems. Before joining Dr. Xu’s lab, Qing conducted undergraduate research on sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy to study the water-air interface and used transient absorption spectroscopy to investigate singlet fission materials. In late February 2025, she joined Dr. Fan’s lab, where she began applying lasers to neurons for brain research.
Current Work:
Understanding how disruptions in excitatory-inhibitory (E/I) balance, synaptic plasticity, and network dynamics contribute to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is crucial for the development of better diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. However, our understanding of the underlying synaptic mechanisms remains limited–largely due to the technical difficulties in selectively probing synaptic connectivity between defined neuronal populations in awake animals. My current project aims to integrate optogenetics with voltage imaging for two-photon all-optical physiology, large-scale and volumetric voltage imaging for all-optical physiology and apply the 2P all-optical physiology platform to map synaptic plasticity in a SHANK3 model of ASD.