Abstract:
Our brains receive information from sensory neurons about our external environment and internal organs. To understand how the brain processes information and initiates motor outputs, scientists are constructing complete wiring diagrams called “connectomes” that map all neural connections in the brain and body. Taking Drosophila melanogaster as an example, I will discuss challenges in building whole-body connectomes and how that knowledge may help us better understand normal function and treat disease.
Brief Bio:
Received Ph.D. (1990) and trained as a postdoctoral fellow (1992) in Rutgers University, Ann-Shyn Chiang joined Department of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University as an associate professor (1992), promoted as professor (1997), took sabbatical to study Drosophila memory at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (2001) and became the adjunct International Faculty of Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind (KIBM) at the University of California, San Diego (2011). For his contribution to our understanding of memory formation using a connectomics approach, Chiang was elected as an Academician of Academia Sinica (2014).
Chiang reconstructed a brain-wide wiring diagram in Drosophila (the New York Times reported this discovery as the first step toward mapping human brain) and published the first Cell (2007) paper from Taiwanese scientists. Guiding by this connectomics map, he and his colleagues discovered that long-term memory formation requires new protein synthesis only in few brain neurons and published the first full article in Science (2012) from Taiwanese scientists. He received many awards, including: Outstanding Research Award, National Science Council (2004, 2009, 2012), Outstanding Scholar Award, Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship (2007), Academic Award of Ministry of Education (2007), Outstanding Contributions in Science and Technology of Executive Yuan (2008), TWAS Prize in Biology (2012), and National Chair Award of Ministry of Education (2015). Chiang is currently the Dean of College of Life Science, the Director of Brain Research Center, and the Distinguished Chair Professor of National Tsing Hua University.