Hei Matthew Yip

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Hei Matthew Yip is currently a PhD student at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Mr. Yip received his BEng in medical engineering from The University of Hong Kong, and his MPhil degree from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. After exposure and training in biomedical sciences research, he pursued a PhD in neuroscience and joined the lab of Dr. Jacque Pak Kan Ip. His PhD project aims to understand cortical visual impairments in autism spectrum disorder using in-vivo models and two-photon calcium imaging. Mr. Yip has been actively involved in multiple approaches to understanding neurological disorders, ranging from genetic and molecular factors to neural circuits, also asking about their implications for behavior. With his engineering background, Mr. Yip is also responsible for the establishment of electronic devices for data acquisition and programs for data analysis.     

Albert Hiu Ka Fok

Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre

Dr. Albert Hiu Ka Fok completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (2012-2016) and a PhD in Neuroscience under the supervision of Dr. Cora Sau Wan Lai (2016-2021) at the University of Hong Kong. His PhD focused on the study of the role of kinesin motor protein in regulating dendritic spine plasticity in vivo, with the use of two-photon laser scanning microscopy. He then started a postdoctoral position under the supervision of Dr. Keith Murai at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in 2022.  Dr. Fok is currently focusing on the study of neuron-glial interaction in cognitive functions and behaviors, with tools such as miniscope imaging of calcium activities. His current work also explores inter-species variability in neuronal circuits underlying cognitive functions and behaviors, by using mouse and marmoset models.  

Zidan Yang

Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Zidan Yang is a PhD candidate in Dr. Hidehiko Inagaki's lab at the Max Planck Institute. Previously, she earned a Master's degree in neuroscience from University College London (UCL), where she worked in Dr. Michael Hausser's lab. Yang specializes in systems and circuit neuroscience, with a broad interest in life sciences. She possesses expertise in large-scale extracellular electrophysiology, cell-type-specific optogenetics and recording, calcium imaging, pharmacological manipulations, and the development of operant behavioral paradigms. She is also highly skilled in stereotaxic surgery and computational analysis. Passionate about open science and community building, she actively contributes to advancing collaborative research initiatives.

Ruolin Fan

Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Dr. Ruolin Fan is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. She received her Bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from the University of Hong Kong. With the support of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship, awarded by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, she continued to pursue a PhD at the University of Hong Kong. In her PhD research supervised by Dr. Kwok-On Lai, she investigated kinesin function and RNA transport in hippocampal neurons using a wide range of tools, including confocal imaging, synaptoneurosome isolation, and RNA-seq. After graduation, she joined the lab of Dr. Vidhya Rangaraju at Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience as a postdoctoral fellow. Her current research focuses on the regulation of ATP synthesis by mitochondrial calcium during synaptic plasticity, where calcium imaging of cultured hippocampal neurons is actively used. Beyond research, she also has a passion for scientific communication. She is currently a volunteer translator for Neureality (neu-reality.com), a Chinese non-profit organization for neuroscientific communication.  

Chit-Ying Lau

The University of Hong Kong

Chit-Ying Lau received her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Hong Kong in 2020. She is currently an MPhil candidate in Prof. Ren Sun’s lab, working on the immediate interplay between transcription factors and epigenetic enzymes that contribute to early epigenetic changes in reversible biological processes.  Back in her undergraduate studies, she worked on diverse molecular neuroscience projects. She conducted a project on the characterization of intron retention in neuronal differentiation in Prof. Douglas L. Black’s lab (UCLA) and identified and validated synaptosome-enriched transcriptome in Dr. Kwok-On Lai’s lab (HKU). Lau also examined the relationship between synaptic arginine methylation and rodent social activities via multiple behavioral tests.  Beyond benchwork, she enjoys communicating science to the public and is an author in PanSci. She is open to collaborations in science outreach projects.