Bing Dai

McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT

Dr. Bing Dai is a postdoctoral associate in the Guoping Feng lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on how rare genetic mutations contribute to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders, using both mouse and marmoset models. He completed his PhD in Neuroscience from New York University under the supervision of Dr. Dayu Lin. His doctoral work investigated how the nucleus accumbens dopamine signals encode the different aspects of innate social behaviors and how dopamine modulates intermale aggression in an experience-dependent manner. He specialized in various techniques frequently used in social behavior studies, including single- and multi-fiber photometry recording, chemogenetics, in vitro electrophysiology, and optogenetics.

Long Mei

Wuhan University

Dr. Long Mei is an assistant professor at Wuhan University, China. His research focuses on unraveling the neural mechanisms underlying social behavior. Specifically, he investigates how social behaviors are generated and modulated in the brain and how an individual's social behaviors can contagiously influence others to alter their behavioral decisions. To tackle these complex questions, Dr. Mei employs a multidisciplinary approach, integrating cutting-edge techniques such as virus tracing, fiber photometry imaging, freely moving two-photon imaging, optogenetics, chemogenetics, electrophysiology, and molecular genetics. Dr. Mei aims to deepen our understanding of the neural basis of social behavior and its implications for mental health, with the ultimate goal of shedding light on how malfunctions in these neural processes may contribute to certain forms of mental disorders. 

Nicole Rigney

Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California

Dr. Nicole A. Rigney is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in the neural circuits underlying prosocial behavior and social disorders. She earned her PhD in Neuroscience from Georgia State University in 2023, where she investigated vasopressin systems and their role in regulating social behavior. Her current research employs cutting-edge techniques, including miniscope calcium imaging, optogenetics, chemogenetics, circuit analysis, activity-dependent neural tagging, and telemetry recording, to measure and manipulate complex social interactions, including prosocial behavior, social communication, and social decision-making. Dr. Rigney's work provides insights into how neural circuits organize and regulate social behavior, with implications for understanding neuropsychiatric disorders that affect social function.