Dr. Qingtao Sun , Biochemistry , Postdoc at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, United States
Dr. Qingtao Sun is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), working under the mentorship of Prof. Bo Li. With a strong foundation in neuroscience and biomedical photonics, Dr. Sun is recognized for his contributions to brain-wide mapping, neural circuitry, and neuroimmune interactions. Originally from Weihui, Henan, China, he earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences and Ph.D. in Biomedical Photonics from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). His Ph.D. research dissected long-range inputs to GABAergic neurons in the mouse prefrontal cortex. Prior to joining CSHL, he served as an Assistant Investigator at the HUST-Suzhou Institute for Brainsmatics. Dr. Sun’s prolific research output includes impactful publications in Nature Neuroscience, Nature Communications, and Neuron. His work bridges advanced imaging with neurobiology to uncover mechanisms of behavior, motivation, and disease. He has been honored with prestigious awards including the CSHL Postdoc Scientific Breakthrough Award.
Professional Profile :
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Summary of Suitability for Award:
Dr. Qingtao Sun, currently a postdoctoral research associate at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has established himself as an outstanding young neuroscientist with a robust academic foundation and impactful research trajectory. With a Ph.D. in Biomedical Photonics from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, his work has consistently bridged advanced imaging techniques with complex neurobiological questions, particularly focusing on GABAergic neurons, neural circuitry, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer cachexia. Dr. Qingtao Sun is highly suitable for the “Best Researcher Award.” His interdisciplinary expertise, innovation in neuroimaging and neurocircuitry, publication record, and recognized scientific impact place him among the top-tier emerging neuroscientists. He represents the ideal candidate who merges cutting-edge methods with real-world biomedical relevance, making transformative contributions to brain science.
🎓Education:
Dr. Qingtao Sun began his academic journey at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences (2009–2013) from the School of Life Science and Technology. He pursued his doctoral degree in Biomedical Photonics (2013–2019) at the Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, HUST. His Ph.D. thesis, titled “Dissection of long-range inputs to three types of GABAergic neurons in mouse medial prefrontal cortex,” was supervised by Prof. Hui Gong. Throughout his education, Dr. Sun was actively engaged in neuroimaging, circuit dissection, and computational neuroscience. His training included in-depth exposure to advanced microscopy, whole-brain imaging techniques, and connectomics, which laid the foundation for his later work in brain function and neurocircuitry. He has seamlessly integrated interdisciplinary approaches, combining biology, optics, and computation in neuroscience research, making him an exceptional contributor in the field of systems neuroscience and brain mapping.
🏢Work Experience:
Dr. Qingtao Sun is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), where he joined in February 2021. At CSHL, he works under the guidance of Prof. Bo Li, focusing on motivation, social behavior, and neuroimmune interactions using cutting-edge circuit-level neuroscience approaches. Prior to this role, Dr. Sun was an Assistant Investigator at the HUST-Suzhou Institute for Brainsmatics from June 2020 to February 2021. There, he contributed to high-resolution whole-brain imaging and analysis of neuronal circuits. His expertise spans in vivo and ex vivo imaging, large-scale brain mapping, neural tracing, and functional manipulation using optogenetics and chemogenetics. Dr. Sun has collaborated with leading neuroscientists globally and has co-authored numerous high-impact publications. His career trajectory reflects a deep commitment to exploring neural mechanisms underlying behavior and disease through interdisciplinary methodologies in neuroscience.
🏅Awards:
Dr. Qingtao Sun has been consistently recognized for his excellence in both academic and scientific research endeavors. During his doctoral studies at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, he received the National Scholarship in 2014 for outstanding academic performance. He was honored multiple times as an Outstanding Graduate Student Cadre in 2014, 2016, and 2017 for his leadership and contributions to student initiatives. In 2020, he earned the Outstanding Dissertation Award in Biomedical Engineering for his impactful doctoral work on GABAergic neurons and brain circuitry. Most recently, he received the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Postdoc Scientific Breakthrough Award in 2025, a prestigious acknowledgment of his contributions to neuroscience at the postdoctoral level. These awards underscore Dr. Sun’s dedication to advancing scientific understanding and his innovative approach to neuroscience research. His accolades reflect both his academic rigor and his pioneering research in brain science.
🔬Research Focus:
Dr. Qingtao Sun’s research lies at the intersection of systems neuroscience, circuit mapping, and disease modeling. His primary focus is on understanding how specific brain circuits govern behaviors such as motivation, social interaction, and appetite regulation. He specializes in dissecting long-range neuronal inputs to GABAergic interneurons, with a particular emphasis on the medial prefrontal cortex. At Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, he explores neuromodulatory mechanisms through the pallido-amygdala cholinergic circuit and the role of area postrema neurons in cancer cachexia. His work integrates advanced imaging techniques, including light-sheet microscopy and dual-color tomography, with molecular tools like optogenetics and viral tracing. He also investigates neuronal disruptions in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Through his interdisciplinary approach combining optics, connectomics, and behavior, Dr. Sun is unraveling complex neuronal networks at synaptic and systems levels. His research advances both fundamental neuroscience and its translational potential for psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
Publication Top Notes:
Cell-type-specific striatal modulation of amygdalar acetylcholine in salience assignment
Dynorphin modulates motivation through a pallido-amygdala cholinergic circuit
Unlocking opioid neuropeptide dynamics with genetically encoded biosensors
Area postrema neurons mediate interleukin-6 function in cancer cachexia
Long-range Connectome of Pyramidal Neurons in the Sensorimotor Cortex
The Mesoscopic Connectome of the Cholinergic Pontomesencephalic Tegmentum
Acetylcholine deficiency disrupts extratelencephalic projection neurons in the prefrontal cortex in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease
Dissection of the long-range projections of specific neurons at the synaptic level in the whole mouse brain
Multicolor high-resolution whole-brain imaging for acquiring and comparing the brain-wide distributions of type-specific and projection-specific neurons with anatomical annotation in the same brain