Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering

B.S., Peking University

Ph.D., Stanford University

Research from the Hong lab aims to study how the brain changes at the level of single neurons over time as well as the circuits encompassing these neurons. The brain is a dynamically changing structure. The time-dependent evolution of neural circuits during brain development—learning and memory, and aging—occurs over many years and in many different brain regions. However, this evolution involves physiological changes that must be quantified at the millisecond and micrometer scales of individual neurons. A substantial challenge in understanding the dynamically changing brain arises from the spatiotemporal mismatch between the neural activity of interest and the available tools to study it. Therefore, we aim to fill the knowledge gap by developing novel bioelectronic and biophotonic tools to study the long-term evolution of neural circuits during neurodegeneration. The knowledge obtained therein will offer therapeutic strategies for devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s, thereby improving life quality for the families affected and society as a whole.