Welcome to my personal page
I’m a neuroscientist studying the neural dynamics in the brain in health and disease using advanced optical imaging methods.
I’m currently a postdoc fellow at Salk Institute in San Diego, co-advised by Dr. Adam Bowman and Dr. Ed Callaway. I use fast, quantitative, and multiplexed fluorescence lifetime imaging of voltage and other brain molecules, powered by electro-optic fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy technique, to study the signal interactions and higher computation rules of neural circuits.
I did my Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis, advised by Dr. Yao Chen. During my Ph.D., I found the fluorescence lifetime changes of single fluorophore-based neuromodulator sensors and used fluorescence lifetime imaging for quantitative imaging of neuromodulators in neuronal functions and mouse behaviors.
Prior to my Ph.D., I worked with Dr. Xue-Jun Song at Peking Unviersity and Southern University of Science and Technology in China, and with Dr. Issac Chiu at Harvard Medical School. I studied the molecular pathogenesis of neuropathic pain and the gut microbiota-sensory neuron-immune interactions in chronic pain and gut infections.
I earned a Bachelor of Medicine degree from Peking University, Beijing, after growing up in Guangrao, a small town in the ShanDong province of China.
News
- 2025.06: I was awarded the Salk Pioneer Award for my study on building a optical platform for multiplexed imaging of neuronal signals!
- 2025.05: I attended the PhD hooding ceremony!
- 2025.01: I started working at Salk! Very exciting!
- 2024.11: Paper published in eLife: The promise and peril of comparing fluorescence lifetime in biology revealed by simulations.
- 2024.09: I defended my thesis titled ‘Studying the dynamics of neuromodulators in the brain by fluorescence lifetime imaging’!
- 2024.02: Paper published in Science Advances: Fast and slow: Recording neuromodulator dynamics across both transient and chronic time scales.
Selected Publications
- Ma, P., Chen, P., Tilden, E. I., Aggarwal, S., Oldenborg, A., & Chen, Y. (2024). Fast and slow: Recording neuromodulator dynamics across both transient and chronic time scales. Science Advances, 10(8), eadi0643.
- Ma, P., Sternson, S., & Chen, Y. (2024). The promise and peril of comparing fluorescence lifetime in biology revealed by simulations. eLife, 13.
- Ma, P., Mo, R., Liao, H., Qiu, C., Wu, G., Yang, C., … & Song, X. J. (2022). Gut microbiota depletion by antibiotics ameliorates somatic neuropathic pain induced by nerve injury, chemotherapy, and diabetes in mice. Journal of neuroinflammation, 19(1), 169.
- Ma, P., Chen, P., Zhou, Z. L., Mo, R. F., Wu, M., & Song, X. J. (2020). Activation of EphB receptors contributes to primary sensory neuron excitability by facilitating Ca2+ influx directly or through Src kinase-mediated N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor phosphorylation. Pain, 161(7), 1584-1596.
For more info
Contact me at mapingchuan93atgmail.com for more information.