报告题目：How do we sense the world? Lessons from worms to mice
报告人：许献忠 教授
主持人：李 磊 教授
时 间：2026年1月20日（周二）下午4点
地 点：纳米楼457报告厅
报告人简介：
The Xu lab studies sensory biology, aiming to understand how animals sense their external and internal world through various sensory systems.
Dr. Xu joined the University of Michigan in 2005 with a faculty appointment in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and in the Life Sciences Institute. Currently, Dr. Xu is Bernard W. Agranoff Collegiate Professor of the Life Sciences in the Life Sciences Institute. He is also Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology at U-M Medical School. Prior to joining U-M, Xu completed his post-doctoral training at the California Institute of Technology.
Dr. Xu has received the Pew Scholar award, Sloan fellow, Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship and Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award.
讲座摘要：
The environment has a profound impact on animal behavior and physiology. The ability to sense environmental cues is essential for an animal’s life. Dr. Xu’s lab investigates how animals detect and process diverse sensory cues – such as temperature, touch, light, sound, odorants, and tastants – and the influence these sensory stimuli have on brain function and behavior, and on genetic programs affecting health and aging. To address these questions, Dr. Xu uses both C. elegans and mouse models.
To survive and adapt to the ever-changing environment, C. elegans has evolved a rich repertoire of sensory systems and has emerged as a powerful genetic model for studying sensory biology, particularly for identifying and characterizing novel sensory receptors and sensory signaling mechanisms. Because many sensory receptors are evolutionarily conserved, Dr. Xu’s lab also investigates their roles in somatosensation, interoception, and pain in mammals using mouse models. To do so, Dr. Xu takes a multidisciplinary approach, combining molecular genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, functional imaging, and electrophysiology. In this seminar, Dr. Xu will present his recent work on dissecting how animals sense mechanical and temperature stimuli through novel sensors and how this regulates brain function, shapes behavior, and modulates aging.
