University of Pennsylvania, USA is announcing several Full Funded PhD and Postdoc positions in Neuroscience!
Lab Details (Jiang-Xie Lab)
The primary objective of the Jiang-Xie Lab is to unveil the mystery of sleep. By integrating diverse experimental and computational tools—including electrophysiology, two-photon imaging, proteomics, numerical modeling, and artificial intelligence. The Jiang-Xie Lab aim to develop a coherent theory to explain the function and origin of sleep.
Currently, they are focused on advancing the self-cleansing brain hypothesis for sleep, which also provides profound insights into neurodegenerative disorders.
Currently, they are focused on advancing the self-cleansing brain hypothesis for sleep, which also provides profound insights into neurodegenerative disorders.
We believe that the primary function of sleep is to restore metabolic homeostasis. Excess waste produced by neuronal activity during wakefulness generates the drive to sleep, while the function of sleep is to remove these harmful wastes, ensuring optimal brain performance. Our recent research has discovered that neurons, acting as small biophysical pumps, synchronize their activity during sleep to create large-amplitude and rhythmic ionic waves (currents) in the brain's interstitial fluid. These waves power fluid flow, effectively clearing metabolic waste from the brain. We summarize this principle as, neurons that fire together shower together. In light of this foundational concept, we aim to investigate how neural circuits are shaped by the demand for self-cleansing throughout the evolution of sleep.
Newly established in 2025, our lab is part of the Department of Neuroscience and affiliated with the Chronobiology and Sleep Institute at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). Located in Philadelphia, a historic city celebrated for its rich culture and humanities, Penn is internationally recognized for its pioneering and interdisciplinary research in neuroscience, sleep, and neurodegeneration. We are currently seeking talented and motivated individuals to join our team, including postdoctoral fellows, research specialists, technicians, as well as graduate and undergraduate students.
Here are a few research directions we are currently pursuing:
(1) Recording and visualizing neural activity and brain interstitial fluid dynamics across different brain states.
(2) Identifying the macroscale circuitry organizing global fluid perfusion and molecular clearance.
(3) Pinpointing the micro-circuitry orchestrating local fluid perfusion and brain clearance.
(4) Determining how neural dynamics regulate the metabolism of endogenous disease-associated proteins.
(5) Implementing sleep mechanisms in artificial neural networks.
Send an Expression of interest mail and your Academic CV (PDF) to the Prof's e-mail if interested
Contact information
CRB Room 217A
415 Curie Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States
Philadelphia, PA 19104
