2024

Oct: Monthly lab lunch at Casa Pollastroto (Baijie's pick) to celebrate Swati's promotion, Baijie and Steven's birthdays. We also wish Li the best of luck with his upcoming job interviews!

Oct: Congratulations to Swati on her promotion to Research Associate. Well deserved!

Oct: Great talk by Li at the Hypothalamic Research Center WIPS!

Oct: Baijie's work has just been accepted at Science Translational Medicine. It's a great story that could potentially help patients. Big congrats!

Sep: Lab Lunch with special guests at Japan House: celebrating Rong's return and the Mid-Autumn Festival (excellent pick by Baijie and Swati).

Sep: We’re thrilled to have Rong back on the team. Thank you for choosing to work with us again!

Sep: Baijie submitted his research proposal for the AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship. Good luck!

Sep: Congratulations to Li and Swati on their promotions to Instructor and Research Assistant II! Wishing you both continued success in your new roles.

Aug: Li continues his winning streak, having received another Best Poster Award at the Hypothalamus GRC. Congratulations once again!

Aug: Baijie and Li are presenting their work at the Gordon Conference on Hypothalamus in beautiful Maine. Have a great time, folks!

July: Two birthday celebrations this week with four delicious cakes. Happy Birthday to our lab manager, Swati!

July: Baijie submitted his research proposal for the ADA Postdoctoral Fellowship. Good luck!

July: Li keeps adding to his collection of trophies, the latest one for his excellent oral presentation at the annual CADA meeting in Orlando, Florida. Way to go, congratulations!

June: Lab lunch at Heim BBQ while our vegetarian lab manager is on vacation. Coincidence or a calculated move? (Steven's pick)

May: As summer begins, our lab members embark on exciting new journeys. Baijie will be presenting his work at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Symposium on Brain-Body Physiology, while Li is scheduled to give a talk at the annual CADA meeting in Orlando, Florida. Additionally, Swati will be visiting India with her family for the first time in four years. Wishing everyone safe travels and a wonderful time!

Apr: So many things to celebrate during this month's lab lunch: Lorenza's master's degree, Steven's new paper, and Baijie's Big Award. Had a great time at @Pho Vietz (Steven's pick).

Apr: Winning the Basic Science Award (first place) AGAIN at the Seldin Research Symposium for two consecutive years. This time, it's our very own Baijie! Congratulations! We need new trainees for next year's competition.

Apr: Baijie and Li presented their work at the Ninth Donald W. Seldin Research Symposium.

Mar: Lab lunch at Kirin Court celebrating Li's recent achievements on a beautiful spring day (Li's pick)!

Mar: Li's achievements are highlighted in the Department Newsletter!

Mar: First Major Milestone in 2024! Massive congratulations to Li for earning the prestigious AHA Career Development Award! A significant step toward securing a faculty position.

Feb: Great talk by Li at the Hypothalamic Research Center WIPS! Exciting new data!

Feb: Lunar New Year Celebration at Fortune House (Baijie's pick).

Jan: Li has been selected as a finalist for the 2024 Brown-Goldstein Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Research. Great news!

Jan: Welcome Daiyan! New undergraduate research intern from UTD.

2023

Dec: Holiday Celebration at Meddlesome Moth (Chen's pick).

Dec: Li submitted his research proposal for the AHA Career Development Award. Fingers crossed!

Nov: Baijie's work was selected for an oral presentation at the Keystone Symposium 2024 in Vancouver, Canada. Congrats!

Nov: Li co-authored a paper in Science Translational Medicine on hyperleptinemia in antipsychotic-drug-induced metabolic syndrome.

Oct: Li submitted his research proposal for the NIH Career Development Award. Fingers crossed!

Oct: Li attended the Obesity Week 2023 in Dallas, Texas.

Sep: Li and Baijie's STAR Protocol paper is out! First corresponding author paper for Li. Congrats!

Sep: Great talk by Li at the Hypothalamic Research Center WIPS!

Aug: Baijie submitted his research proposal for the AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship. Fingers crossed!

July: Congrats Lewa for a terrific presentation at the STARS Research Poster Session.

July: Celebrating summer break at Big Al's Smokehouse (Steven's pick).

July: We have a new baby! Congrats to Swati and Salil.

July: Li attended the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) annual meeting in Portland, Oregon.

June: Welcome Lewa! New STARS student.

May: Congrats Li for winning the Basic Science Award (first place) at the Eighth Donald W. Seldin Research Symposium. Great achievement!

May: Baijie gave an oral presentation at the 2023 Neuroscience Program Retreat at the Texas Discovery Garden. Li presented a poster.

May: Great talk by Baijie at the Hypothalamic Research Center WIPS!

Apr: Li presented his work at the Eighth Donald W. Seldin Research Symposium.

Apr: Great talk by Li at the Hypothalamic Research Center WIPS!

Mar: Baijie co-authored a paper in Frontier in Endocrinology on the role of Mc4r in female sexual receptivity.

Feb: Baijie co-authored a paper in Molecular Psychiatry on the role of NR5A2 in olanzapine-induced weight gain.

Jan: New Year Celebration at Mughlai Fine Indian Cuisine (Swati's pick).

2022

Dec: Congrats Li for winning the highly competitive AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship. Great achievement!

Nov: Li gave an oral presentation at the Obesity Society Annual Meeting in San Diego, California.

Nov: Baijie gave an excellent talk at the Hypothalamic Research Center WIPS.

Oct: Congrats Li for receiving the UTSWPDA Travel Award.

Sep: Li submitted his research proposal for the AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship. Fingers crossed!

Sep: Great talk by Li at the Hypothalamic Research Center WIPS!

Sep: Chen becomes an Associate Professor with tenure! Thanks to all current/past lab members for making this possible.

July: Congrats Eman for an excellent presentation at the STARS Research Poster Session.

July: The University issued a press release highlighting our recent discovery of the appetite-suppressing effect of commonly used migraine drugs.

July: Our new paper is out in the Journal of Experimental Medicine! Li's second JEM paper in two years! Many thanks to the Sohn lab at KAIST!

June: Chen received the Young Investigator Award from the Chinese American Diabetes Association. A team achievement by all lab members!

June: Congrats Baijie for receiving the Fellowship Award for his outstanding oral presentation at the CADA annual meeting in New Orleans.

June: Welcome Eman! New STARS student.

June: Welcome Alexandra! New undergraduate student from Rice University.

Apr: Baijie and Li presented posters at the 2022 Neuroscience Program Retreat. Great job!

Jan: Congrats Li for winning the Scholarship Award for this year's Keystone Symposium in Banff, Canada. Great Achievement!

2021

Nov: Li gave an oral presentation on antipsychotic drug-induced weight gain during the Obesity Week. Nice job!

Nov: Our new paper is out in Cell Reports! Congrats to all! Another wonderful collaboration with the Sohn lab at KAIST!

July: Congrats Christopher for a great presentation at the STARS Research Poster Session.

June: Welcome Baijie! New Postdoctoral Researcher in the lab.

June: Welcome Christopher! New STARS student.

Apr: The University issued a press release highlighting our recent story of antipsychotic drug-induced weight gain!

Apr: Our new paper is out in the Journal of Experimental Medicine! Congrats Li and the team. Great collaboration with the Sohn lab at KAIST!

2020

Dec: Welcome Swati! New Research Assistant and Lab Manager.

Dec: Sad to see Rong leave the lab as she relocates with her family. Best of luck for a new life in China. We will miss you!

Aug: Congrats Amanda for obtaining her M.B.A. degree and the new position as a Business Analyst at UTSW. Come back to visit us often!

Apr: Xiameng's paper is out in the Journal of Neuroscience as a "Featured Article". Congrats to all!

Mar: Congrats Khyathi for being accepted into the B.A./M.D. program at UMKC Medical School.

2019

Nov: Farewell, Xiameng! Best of luck with your new position as an Assistant Professor! Keep in touch.

Oct: Welcome Jing! New Visiting Scholar in the lab.

Sep: Xiameng deposited her manuscript on bioRxiv. Two years of hard work!

July: Congrats Khyathi for a terrific presentation at the STARS Research Poster Session.

June: Welcome Khyathi! New STARS student.

Apr: Li and Xiameng presented posters at the 2019 Neuroscience Program Retreat. Great job!

Mar: Congrats Brian for being accepted into Harvard! We are so proud of you.

2018

Nov: Amanda is attending the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. Have fun!

Oct: Welcome Li! New Postdoctoral Researcher in the lab.

July: Congrats Brian for an excellent presentation at the STARS Research Poster Session.

June: Welcome Brian! New STARS student.

Mar: Welcome Xiujuan! New Visiting Scholar in the lab.

2017

Dec: Welcome Xiameng! New Postdoctoral Researcher studying hypothalamic neurodevelopment.

Sep: Congrats Rong and Amanda for their promotions to a Research Associate and a Research Assistant!

Sep: Our review article on serotonergic control of metabolic homeostasis is out!

Sep: The University issued a press release highlighting our findings in the JCI paper.

Sep: Our paper is out in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Congrats to all!

Aug: Congrats Amanda for being accepted into the employee M.B.A. program. Glad to support your professional development!

July: Congrats Aakash for a great presentation at the STARS Research Poster Session.

June: Welcome Aakash! New STARS student.

2016

Dec: Welcome Amanda! New Research Technician!

Jun: Welcome Rong! New Research Assistant!

Jun: Farewell, Dias. Best of luck with your graduate studies in California!

2015

Dec: Welcome Dias! New research technician in the lab.

Sep: Grand opening of the Chen Liu Lab at the UT Southwestern Medical Center!