FACULTY

Faculty

At Westlake, we welcome talented people, outstanding scholars, research fellows, and young scientists from all backgrounds. We expect to have a community of 300 assistant, associate, and full professors (including chair professors), 600 research, teaching, technical support and administrative staff, and 900 postdoctoral fellows by 2026.

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Yi SUN, Ph.D.

Yi SUN, Ph.D.

Yi SUN, Ph.D.

School of Life Sciences

School of Life Sciences

CONTACT

Progress in science depends on techniques, new discoveries and new ideas, probably in that order. - Sydney Brenner

Biography

Yi Sun studied  Mechanical Engineering and Automation in Beihang University (BUAA), and got his  PhD in Physical Chemistry from Chinese Academy of Sciences. He did postdoctoral  research in Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus, working on  developing calcium imaging technologies and studying neural information  processing. Yi then joined Westlake University as a Principal Investigator and  established the Lab of Systems Neuroscience and Neuroengineering.



Research

Animals  including humans effortlessly navigate their social environment, a remarkable  feat that artificial intelligence systems are striving to achieve. Our lab is  focusing on understanding the neural basis for cognitive functions during social  behavior, with an emphasis on recognition and decision making. Specifically, how  animals combine past experience to form internal models of self and others, how  they update such models under current settings, how they utilize the models for  determining the best course of action during social interactions, and how these  computations are performed by neuronal circuits.


Using a  combination of approaches including two-photon in-vivo functional imaging and  stimulation, quantitative behavior, circuit analysis and electrophysiology,  guided by theoretical hypotheses and aided by quantitative analysis, we aim to  decipher the fundamental neural principles of social cognition by dissecting the  genetic model Drosophila. We also develop and apply the latest technologies in  imaging and behavior to help our studies.


Representative Publications

1. Dana  H*, Sun  Y*, Mohar B*,  Hulse B*, Kerlin A, Hasseman J, Tsegaye G, Tsang A, Wong A, Patel R, Macklin J,  Chen Y, Konnerth A, Jayaraman V, Looger L, Schreiter E, Svoboda K, Kim D,  High-performance calcium sensors for imaging activity in neuronal populations  and microcompartments, Nature  Methods, 16(7):  649-657, 2019 (*equal contribution).

2. Sun  Y, Nern A,  Franconville R, Dana H, Schreiter E, Looger L, Svoboda K, Kim D, Hermundstad A,  Jayaraman V, Neural signatures of dynamic stimulus selection in  Drosophila, Nature  Neuroscience, 20(8):  1104-1113, 2017 (cover highlighted).

3. Fosque  B*, Sun  Y*, Dana H*,  Yang C, Ohyama T, Tadross M, Patel R, Zlatic M, Kim D, Ahrens M, Jayaraman V,  Looger LL, Schreiter E, Labeling of active neural circuits in vivo with designed  calcium integrators, Science, 347(6223):  755–60, 2015 (*equal contribution).

4. Dana H,  Mohar B, Sun  Y, Narayan S,  Gordus A, Hasseman J, Tsegaye G, Holt G, Patel R, Macklin J, Bargmann C, Ahrens  M, Schreiter E, Jayaraman V, Looger L, Svoboda K, Kim D, Sensitive red protein  calcium indicators for imaging neural activity, eLife, 5: e12727,  2016 (lead author on Drosophila part).

5. Chen T,  Wardill T, Sun  Y, Pulver S,  Renninger S, Baohan A, Schreiter E, Kerr R, Orger M, Jayaraman V, Looger L,  Svoboda K, Kim D, Ultrasensitive fluorescent proteins for imaging neuronal  activity, Nature, 499 (7458):  295-300, 2013 (lead author on Drosophila part).



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