Lixuan Cui

My name is Lixuan, and I am a junior undergraduate student at Beijing Normal University. I grew up in Qingdao, Shandong, China. This summer, I joined Dr. He’s lab as a short-term visiting scholar to conduct new research.

My research interests focus on the evolution of gene regulatory networks, including how these systems evolve under environmental pressure and the adaptive strategies across species. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida glabrata are two good models to study these questions. Although they are evolutionarily distant and inhabit different environments, these two species share many orthologous genes. Understanding the divergent molecular mechanisms within their gene regulatory networks will provide insights into the evolvability of gene networks. Currently, I am working with Arya Murthy to master experimental techniques and learning about the research of all lab members.

Outside of the lab, I love playing soccer, participating in other outdoor sports and cooking various dishes.