Yun-Feng Zhang got his Ph.D. degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011. During 2011-2016, he worked as an assistant professor in School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, China. As the project leader, he has finished two projects: The National Natural Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China (a highly competitive national award with an annual funding rate of only 20% or lower) (No.81301117) and The Wenzhou Science and Technology Plans (No.Y20140049), which are focused on decoding the neural microcircuit mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of epilepsy based on multi-neuron whole-cell patch clamp recordings. Now he is a postdoc research fellow in the Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
His research interest is focused on deciphering mechanisms underlying abnormal behaviors of neurological diseases (e.g. depression and epilepsy) at cellular, neural microcircuit network and behavioral levels using a combination of electrophysiological, morphological and behavioral techniques. His current studies depend on multi-neuron whole-cell patch clamp recordings, 3D neuronal morphological reconstructions and behavioral assays to explore neural microcircuit properties in the mouse cerebral cortex.