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Chinfei Chen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chinfei Chen is an American neuroscientist and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences studying synaptic plasticity.[1][2][3][4][5][6] She is a professor of neurology and neurobiology at Harvard Medical School[7] and the Associate Director of the Harvard Program in Neuroscience.[8] She also works as a research associate in neurology at the Boston Children's Hospital.[9]

Early life

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Chinfei Chen, born in the United States to Taiwanese immigrants, spent her early years in Wilmington, Delaware.[10] Her father had previously moved to the United States to pursue a graduate degree in architecture.[10] As Chen grew older, she and her family relocated to New York City, where she received her education through the city's public school system.[10]

Education and Training

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While in New York, Chen went to Stuyvesant High School.[10] She attended the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a Bachelor of Applied Science in engineering.[10] During her undergraduate years, she joined Britton Chance's laboratory, where she studied brain activity by monitoring flavoprotein fluorescence.[10] Chen later obtained her M.D. and Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School.[10] While in graduate school, she first worked with Edward Kravitz to research neurotransmitter signaling pathways in lobsters.[10] She then worked with Peter Hess on calcium channel biophysics for her Ph.D. Chen then completed her residency in adult neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.,[10][11] followed by postdoctoral training with Wade Regehr at Harvard Medical School.[10][11] Chen decided to study the thalamus during her postdoctoral training, after seeing a patient with damage to the mediodorsal thalamus during her residency.[10]

Research

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Chen's research focuses on mechanisms of synaptic and circuit plasticity in the mammalian central nervous system, for which she was recognized by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[12][1] Chen's research uncovered the functional organization of retinal inputs into the visual thalamus[12] and insight into synaptic function of visual pathways in mouse model of autism and Rett Syndrome[13]

Selected Publications

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Source:[5]

  • Hooks BM, Chen C. Distinct roles for spontaneous and visual activity in remodeling of the retinogeniculate synapse.  Neuron 2006; 52:281-291. PMID 17046691 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2006.07.007
  • Hooks BM, Chen C.  Vision triggers an experience-dependent sensitive period at the retinogeniculate synapse.  J Neurosci 2008 28:4807-4817. PMID 18448657 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4667-07.2008
  • Noutel J, Hong YK, Leu BH, Kang E and Chen C.  Experience-Dependent Retinogeniculate Synapse Remodeling is Abnormal in MeCP2 deficient mice. Neuron 2011; 70:35-42. PMCID: PMC3082316 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.03.001
  • Hong YK, Park K, Litvina E, Morales J, Sanes JR and Chen C. Bouton Clustering Underlies Retinogeniculate Refinement. Neuron 2014; 84: 332-339.  PMID 25284005 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.059
  • Thompson AD, Picard N, Min L, Fagiolini M and Chen C. Cortical Feedback Regulates Feedforward Retinogeniculate Refinement.  Neuron, 2016; 91:1021-1033. PMID 27545712 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2016.07.040
  • Litvina EY and Chen C.  Functional Convergence at the Retinogeniculate Synapse. Neuron 2017; 96:330-338. PMID 29024658 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.09.037
  • Liang L, Fratzl A, Goldey G, Ramesh RN, Sugden AU, Morgan JL, Chen C* and Andermann ML*. A fine-scale functional logic to convergence from retina to thalamus. Cell 2018; 173:1343-1355 PMID 29856953 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.04.041
  • Reggiani JDS, Jiang Q, Barbini M, Lutas A, Liang L, Fernando J, Deng F, Wan J, Li Y, Chen C*, Andermann ML*.  Brainstem Serotonin Neurons Selectively Gate Retinal Information Flow to Thalamus. 2022. Neuron Dec 21:S0896-6273(22)01079-0. PMID 36584680 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.12.006

References

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  1. ^ a b "2024 New Member List | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". www.amacad.org. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  2. ^ "Newsroom | Two Boston Children's Hospital Researchers Elected to The American Academy of Arts & Sciences | Boston Children's Hospital". www.childrenshospital.org. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  3. ^ "2024 New Member List | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". www.amacad.org. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  4. ^ "News & Research". hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  5. ^ a b "Chen, Chinfei[Full Author Name] - Search Results - PubMed". PubMed. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  6. ^ "Balancing the Brain | Nursing Today. Nursing Journals : American Society of Registered Nurses". www.asrn.org. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  7. ^ "Rett protein alters visual circuits in mice". Spectrum | Autism Research News. 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  8. ^ "Harvard PhD Program in Neuroscience". pinphd.hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  9. ^ "Chinfei Chen". Harvard Brain Science Initiative. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Episode 24: Chinfei Chen, MD PhD". Conjugate: Illustration and Science Blog. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  11. ^ a b "Chinfei Chen". ERM 2019. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  12. ^ a b "Scientists Visualize the Connections Between Eye and Brain". www.bidmc.org. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  13. ^ Roan, Shari; Times, Los Angeles (2011-04-15). "Rodent of the Week: Possible reason autism symptoms sometimes appear later". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-05-08.