Principal Investigator

Yongjun Qian
RNA-based tools and methods; microglia targeting; Neural circuit engineering

phone:
address:
email: qianyongjun@pku.edu.cn

钱永军.png

Research Interests:

A critical bottleneck in current biological and medical research is the lack of modular and programmable genetic technologies to precisely monitor and manipulate specific cell types and states. A significant challenge in precision medicine lies in constructing therapeutic agents that can accurately influence specific cell types or states, while simultaneously modifying and manipulating targeted cell populations in a precise manner.

My previous work focused on the development and application of genetic technologies for the nervous system, leading to the invention of CellREADR: a novel RNA sensor-based technology for cell-type specific monitoring and manipulation, with demonstrated potential for medical translation (Qian et al., Nature 2022). At Peking University, building upon this prior research, we aim to develop next-generation technologies for monitoring and manipulating neuronal cell types and states. We will explore the application of novel RNA technologies in basic biology and translational medicine to advance the field of "programmable medicine" in neuroscience.

The laboratory’s research directions include:

1. The development of new RNA-based tools and methods.

2. Novel methods for labeling and manipulating microglia, and investigating their roles in Alzheimer's disease and the aging process.

3. Engineering immune cells to "rewrite" novel functions.

 

Selected Publications:

1. Qian, Y., Li, J., Zhao, S., Matthews, E., Adoff, M., Zhong, W., An, X., Yeo, M., Park, C., Wang, B.-S. , et al. (2022). Programmable RNA Sensing for Cell Monitoring and Manipulation. Nature DIO:10.1038/s41586-022-05280-1

2.  Qian, Y., Cao, Y., Deng, B., Yang, G., Li, J., Xu, R., Zhang, D., Huang, J., and Rao, Y. (2017). Sleep homeostasis regulated by 5HT2b receptor in a small subset of neurons in the dorsal fan-shaped body of drosophila. Elife 6 .

3. Deng, B., Li, Q., Liu, X., Cao, Y., Li, B., Qian, Y., Xu, R., Mao, R., Zhou, E., Zhang, W. , et al. (2019). Chemoconnectomics: Mapping Chemical Transmission in Drosophila. Neuron 101 , 876-893 e874.