Meet the PI

Danyang He, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Neuroimmunology at westlake University

Trained in neuroscience and immunology, Danyang brings a dual-lens perspective to understanding how the immune system sculpts the brain. Her work traces how immune molecules and cells influence neural circuits,both in healthy development and in disease pathogenesis. Danyang received her bachelor's degree from Tsinghua University in 2011
and her Ph.D. degree from UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2016. She then moved to
Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School for her postdoctoral training in
2017. Danyang He joined Westlake University in 2020 as a full-time Assistant Professor and
is currently the Chen Yan Life Sciences Assistant Professor.

Meet the teem!

  • Chen Lu

    PhD Student(Class of 2020)

    I study how the brain and immune system communicate at their borders-and how this dialogue goes wrong in disease.

  • Shiyun Wang

    PhD Student(Class of 2020)

    I study how glia and immune cells talk - in health and during infections.

  • Xiaoran Zhao

    PhD Student(Class of 2020)

    My research investigates how disrupted brain-body communication during development leads to systemic dysregulation in autism.

  • Yangning Lan

    Postdoc

    I study how microglia - the brain's immune cells - change in disease, and how this affects the brain.

  • Jiawei Wang

    PhD Student(Class of 2021)

    I study glial roles in denfense and chronic inflammation.

  • Ruodi Yang

    PhD Student(Class of 2021)

    I research how your 'gut feelings' can literally affect intestinal health during inflammation.

  • Linyixiao Wang

    PhD Student(Class of 2021)

    I study how microglia respond to brain injury and seizures - and how they shape recovery or damage.

  • Yufan Fei

    PhD Student(Class of 2022)

    I study how distinct glial subtypes respond to pathogens and tumor microenvironments.

  • Zitong Zhao

    PhD Student(Class of 2023)

    I study how the brain senses, interprets, and regulates peripheral immunity.

  • Jieyu Chen

    PhD Student(Class of 2024)

    I study disease-associated microglia(DAM) heterogeneity - unraveling how distinct subsets drive pathology across neurological disorders.

  • Huiting Xi

    Research Assistant

    Trained in biochemistry, I now explore brain-body interactions with a molecular lens.

  • Chen Chen

    Research Assistant

    Trained in neural circuits, I'm now merging neurobiology and immunology to explore how brain-immune crosstalk shapes disease.

  • Yujun Guo

    Research Assistant

    With my vet med training, I now provide hands-on support for colony management and lab workflows.

  • Shaorui Liu

    Bioinformatics Staff Scientist(Joint)

    With a quantitative mathematics background, I now wield bioinformatic and machine learning tools to decode the interaction between neurons and immune cells.

  • Zhicheng Li

    Bioinformatics Research Assistant(Joint)

    As a computer scientist,I now leverage next-generation sequencing(NGS) and bioinformatics to decode neuron-immune interactions-transforming data into biological discoveries.

 

Join the lab!

We are a dynamic team. If you are interested in neuroimmunology, please join us and let's explore the connections between the brain and the nervous system together!