Yang Xiang

Yang Xiang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (UMMS), affiliated with the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He holds additional roles in the NeuroNexus Institute, MD/PhD Program, Neuroscience, and Translational Science departments. His research focuses on understanding how the nervous system processes sensory stimuli to generate behavior, using Drosophila as a model. Key projects include studying photoreception mechanisms in larvae, particularly class IV dendritic arborization neurons' role in detecting harmful light, heat, and chemicals. Techniques employed include genetics, functional imaging, and behavioral assays. Yang Xiang earned his B.S. in Biochemistry from Nanjing University (1999) and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2003), followed by postdoctoral training at UCSF under Dr. Yuh-Nung Jan. He leads a lab with postdoctoral fellows (e.g., Pengyu Gu) and graduate students (e.g., Kendra Takle).

His research interests span molecular mechanisms of sensory transduction, neural circuitry underlying escape behaviors, and the role of gustatory receptors (e.g., Gr28b) in phototransduction. Recent work explores TRP channels' roles in mechanosensation and nociception. Collaborations include studies on axon regeneration and stem cell regulation. Awards and grants are not explicitly listed here, but his lab's contributions are highlighted through publications in high-impact journals like Neuron, Science, and Nature.