I have a research background in studying the genetic, molecular, and circuit mechanisms underlying learning, memory, and forgetting using Drosophila as a model. As a postdoc at UCSF, I am interested in the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying neural development, as well as the neural circuit alterations associated with aging and aging-related neurodegenerative diseases.

1. Zhang XF, Sabandal JM, Tsaprailis G, Davis RL. 2022; Active Forgetting Requires Sickie Function in a Dedicated Dopamine Circuit in Drosophila, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119, e2204229119.

2. Zhang XF, Noyes NC, Zeng JZ, Li YL, Davis RL. 2019; Aversive Training Induces Both Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Suppression in Drosophila, The Journal of Neuroscience. 39, 9164–9172.

3. Boto T, Stahl A, Zhang XF, Louis T, Tomchik SM. 2019; Independent Contributions of Discrete Dopaminergic Circuits to Cellular Plasticity, Memory Strength, and Valence in Drosophila. Cell Reports. 27, 2014-2021.e2.