Imposing a Neurotransmitter Switch
A group of midbrain neurons expressing acetylcholine (blue) are made to express another type of neurotransmitter, glutamate (green), using adeno-associated virus as a gene delivery platform. The neurons targeted by the virus also express a red fluorescent protein for identification and thus appear a light-yellow color (green plus red and blue).
Huiquan Li is an assistant project scientist in the Spitzer Lab at the University of California, San Diego, where she studies neurotransmitter plasticity in the adult mouse brain and has worked since completing her graduate studies in China.
Talented in strategizing how to get complex experiments to work and passionate about sharing neuroscience with anyone, in this interview she shares her advice for designing beautiful experiments. She also shares two anecdotes demonstrating that one-on-one interactions can improve individual lives while at the same time increasing understanding of the relevance of neuroscience to everyone.
This interview is a complement to SfN's podcast series, History of SfN: 50th Anniversary. Guests on the podcast were asked to nominate individuals whose careers are making positive cultural or scientific impacts that will shape the next 50 years of neuroscience. Huiquan Li was nominated by Nick Spitzer, Atkinson Family Chair Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at University of California, San Diego.
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