About

The Xu lab studies sensory biology, aiming to understand how animals sense their external and internal world through various sensory systems. 

Dr. Xu joined the University of Michigan in 2005 with a faculty appointment  in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and in the Life Sciences Institute. Currently, Dr. Xu is Bernard W. Agranoff Collegiate Professor of the Life Sciences in the Life Sciences Institute. He is also Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology at U-M Medical School. Prior to joining U-M, Xu completed his post-doctoral training at the California Institute of Technology.

Dr. Xu has received the Pew Scholar award, Sloan fellow, Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship and Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award.

Contact

Office: Room 6115A
Life Sciences Institute
Mary Sue Coleman Hall
210 Washtenaw Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2216
(734) 615-9311
[email protected]

Research Areas

  • sensory transduction
  • synaptic mechanisms underlying behavior and addiction
  • aging and longevity
  • C. elegans
  • neurobiology
  • genetics

Education

  • B.S., Biochemistry, Wuhan University, China
  • M.S., Biochemistry, Wuhan University, China
  • Ph.D., Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University

Honors & Awards

  • Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award (2000)
  • Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Fellowship (2001)
  • Sloan Fellow (2006)
  • Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences (2007)
  • Young Investigator Award, Chinese Biological Investigators Society (2009)
  • Basic Science Research Award, University of Michigan Medical School (2011)
  • Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017)