Personal Introduction

Dr. Fang received his B.S. at Department of Biology and M.S. at Department of Genetics in Fudan University, and Ph.D. at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. Supervised by Prof. Nancy Ip, he studied Wnt signaling function in brain organization and autism. Then he worked with Prof. Rafael Yuste as a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University, applying in vivo two-photon microscopy and optogenetics to visualize and manipulate neural circuits in behaving mice. In 2021, Dr. Fang started his independent career at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. He is leading a team to investigate neural circuit plasticity underlying visual cognition and visually-guided behaviors in normal and diseased conditions (e.g. autism).

Scientific Research Projects

• National Key R&D Program of China (China Brain Project): 2021.12-2026.12

Publications

1. Fang WQ, Chen WW, Fu AK, Ip NY. Axin directs the amplification and differentiation of intermediate progenitors in the developing cerebral cortex. Neuron 2013,79:665-679.

2. Fang WQ, Ip JP, Li R, Ng YP, Lin SC, Chen Y, Fu AKY, Ip NY. Cdk5-mediated phosphorylation of Axin directs axon formation during cerebral cortex development. J Neurosci 2011,31:13613-13624.

3. Fang WQ, Chen WW, Jiang L, Liu K, Yung WH, Fu AKY, Ip NY. Overproduction of upper-layer neurons in the neocortex leads to autism-like features in mice. Cell Rep 2014,9:1635-1643.

4. Fang WQ, Yuste R. Overproduction of Neurons Is Correlated with Enhanced Cortical Ensembles and Increased Perceptual Discrimination. Cell Rep 2017,21:381-392.

Patent

• Ip NY, Fu KY, Fang WQ, Huang XH, Ip FCF. Inducing neurogenesis by axin enhancer. WO2015021943, 30 December 2015.