Neurobiologist Wang Jing leaves US to lead institute at China’s Shenzhen Bay Lab

An eminent neurobiologist has left his tenured professorship in the United States to return to China as the director of the Institute of Molecular Physiology at Shenzhen Bay Laboratory.

Wang Jing resigned as chair and professor of the department of neurobiology at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) in January to assume the full-time position at the institute in southern China. The role marks a new direction in a career that has drawn on his experience in several disciplines, including engineering and biology.

Since starting at the laboratory, Wang said he had read every paper written by its young principal investigators, meticulously reviewing the researchers’ work for months. He said the practice stemmed from a habit he developed at UCSD, which allows him to gain fresh perspectives from junior researchers quickly.

Wang has published more than 50 papers in prominent international journals, including Nature and Cell.

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Why are more Chinese scientists leaving the US to return to China?

Why are more Chinese scientists leaving the US to return to China?

One paper that brought him significant global recognition, published in Nature in February 2022, used the fruit fly model to reveal the neuroscience underlying lust.