Her lab is dedicated to research that combines the development of optical sensors and applications in order to acquire fundamental insight about how the nervous system functions in health and disease. Her research will contribute to a steady advancement of the ability of the “age of light” to reveal functional connectivity in the neural circuitry. Dr. Tian has been awarded the Rita Allen Young Scholar, Hartwell Individual Biochemical Researcher, Human Frontier Program Young Investigator and NIH Brain Initiative. The new Innovator award enables Dr. Tian to engineer much needed imaging tools to enable neuroscientists to obtain a comprehensive view of both excitatory and inhibitory synapses in action at the cellular, tissue, and whole-animal level.