Li Zhang

Li Zhang is Professor of Physiology & Neuroscience at the University of Southern California, where she directs the Center for Neural Circuits and Sensory Processing Disorders and the Ph.D. Program in Neuromedicine. Her research focuses on deciphering brain circuits governing perception and behavior using molecular/genetic and electrophysiological approaches.

She received her B.S. from Beijing University (1994), M.A. from Columbia University (1996), Ph.D. from University of California San Diego (2000), and completed postdoctoral training at UCSF (2004). Her research examines synaptic mechanisms underlying sensory processing, with emphasis on corticocollicular pathways, auditory-visual integration, and neural circuit development.

Awards: Presidential Early Career Award (2008), Packard Fellowship (2006), Searle Scholar Award (2005), Klingenstein Fellowship (2005)

Her laboratory employs in vivo electrophysiology, two-photon imaging, optogenetics, and neural modeling to investigate circuit-level mechanisms in auditory and visual cortices. Key contributions include characterization of inhibitory-excitatory balance, thalamocortical transformations, and corticofugal control of defense behaviors.