Social interactions with the caregiver, particularly the mother, is a major aspect of early-life experiences. The caregiver provides the infant with critical resources such as nursing, thermoregulation, and safety. Human infants are programmed to emotionally attach to their mothers. The infant-mother bond provides a template for future socialization. However, disruptions in this bond, such as child abuse, can render the infant more vulnerable to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorder. As such, understanding how infants emotionally attach to their mothers is a fundamental and unsolved problem in developmental neuroscience. Consequently, investigating how disruptions to these mechanisms affect health is of great significance. My thesis work aims to determine how the early experience of the infant with the mother is integrated in the infant’s brain.

Publications during undergraduate research:

An optimized acetylcholine sensor for monitoring in vivo cholinergic activity, Nature Methods, 2020
Authors: Jing, M., Li, Y.*, Zeng, J., … Li, Y.

A Genetically Encoded Protein Polymer for Uranyl Binding and Extraction Based on the SpyTag–SpyCatcher Chemistry, ACS Synth. Biol., 2018
Authors: Yang, X., Wei, J., …, Li, Y.*, … Qian, L.

Activation of the anti-aging and cognition-enhancing gene klotho by CRISPR-dCas9 transcriptional effector complex, J Molec Neurosci, 2018
Authors: Chen C.Di, Zeldich E, Li, Y.*, … Abraham, C. R.

Identification of the cleavage sites leading to the shed forms of human and mouse anti-aging and cognition-enhancing protein Klotho, PLoS ONE, 2020
Authors: Chen, C. Di, Li, Y.*, … Abraham, C. R.

Yuexuan is a PhD candidate, working with Professor Marcelo Dietrich, at Yale University. Her research focus on developmental neuroscience, more specifically, how the infant brain integrates early-life social experiences. Coming from Kunming, China, as a first-generation in STEM, she has been fortunate to receive mentorship from inspiring and supporting scientists throughout her career. With the acknowledgement of the importance of good support, Yuexuan is commmitted to advocate for women in science and promote inclusiveness in science.