Welcome Dr. Qian Lin

We would like to welcome Dr. Qian Lin (Assistant Professor, Department of Cell & Systems Biology), to the CPIN Program.

The goal of Dr. Lin's lab is to understand how the brain produces flexible and adaptive behaviors – the neural mechanisms underlying cognition and behaviors at the systems level. To do so, they combine whole-brain neural imaging and computational tools on behaving animal models. To gain access to the whole brain at the single-cell level, Dr. Lin's team works with the zebrafish model and cutting-edge microscopies. The lab's approach is to develop data-driven computational models that can explain and predict behaviors from neural activity. The cerebellum, with a highly conserved layered architecture, has recently emerged as a critical region for cognitive functions. The lab focuses on the “cognitive cerebellum” by studying cerebellar microcircuits and interactions with the brain-wide neurodynamics in three decision-making contexts – learning, social cognition, and spatial navigation. Dr. Lin's lab employs state-of-art optical neurotechnology, virtual realities, calcium imaging in awake zebrafish, computation tools from machine learning and dynamical systems, and an array of optogenetic tools.