Technician Opportunities: Join the Ling Bai Lab at CIBR!

About the Lab

The interoceptive nervous system serves as the bridge connecting our body and brain. It continuously monitors the internal state of the body and plays a critical role in regulating our physiological, behavioral, and emotional activities, yet its mechanisms remain poorly understood. The Bai Ling Laboratory is dedicated to investigating the sensory mechanisms and functions by which organisms perceive internal states. Starting with the primary sensory cells in mice, we have established their molecular atlas and developed specific genetic tools to manipulate distinct subtypes of sensory cells. Building on this foundation, we employ multidisciplinary research approaches (such as molecular genetics, structural and circuit tracing, in vivo imaging and electrophysiology, physiological activity and behavioral analysis, and computational modeling) to unravel how the sensory nervous system detects internal state information to regulate physiological, behavioral, and emotional activities. Our research primarily focuses on the following questions:

1.How do different types of primary sensory neurons encode information about the body's internal state?

2.How do primary sensory nerves regulate the physiological activities of organs and the behavior of organisms?

3.How does the interoceptive nervous system influence the regulation of emotions?

4.How does the central nervous system receive, process, and encode internal sensory information from the body?

About the PI

Dr. Ling Bai received her undergraduate education at Tsinghua University. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2016 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she worked under the mentorship of Dr. David Ginty. Her doctoral research led to the discovery of sensory neurons that respond to gentle touch on the skin and revealed the underlying sensory mechanisms (Bai et al., Cell 2015). She then pursued postdoctoral training in Dr. Zachary Knight’s laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco, investigating how the interoceptive nervous system modulates feeding behavior. During this period, she generated a comprehensive cellular atlas of primary sensory neurons in the mouse gut and developed genetic tools for dissecting their functions, which enabled the identification of neural mechanisms underlying feeding behavior and food preference (Bai et al., Cell 2019). Her contributions have been recognized by the Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellowship and the NIH K99 Award. In 2021, Dr. Bai joined the Chinese Institute for Brain Research (CIBR) as a Principal Investigator.

We warmly welcome motivated individuals to join us in uncovering how sensory systems bridge the body and the brain.

Position: Technician

Job Description:

Conduct experiments as assigned by the PI, postdoctoral fellows, or other supervisors.

Requirements:

1. Associate degree or higher required; Experience in mouse surgery is preferred.

2. Ability to communicate effectively, provide timely feedback on work progress, and collaborate within a team.

3. Candidates with a long-term work commitment are preferred.

Application Method:

Please send your CV and supporting materials, including details on your area of specialization, cumulative GPA, and a concise research summary, to xutingting@cibr.ac.cn