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Heidi Huang

Howdy, Heidi here.

I'm an undergrad at UC Berkeley studying Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis on Molecular Therapeutics.

I'm interested in drug delivery and gene therapy. Currently working on improving non-viral CRISPR delivery.

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Research

I am an undergraduate researcher at the Wilson Lab, part of the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI). My senior honors thesis research, funded by the UC Berkeley Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, is on optimizing CRISPR RNP formulations for enhanced genome editing in the brain.

Previously, I was a member of the Knight Lab at UCSF, where I worked on a project regarding the neural circuits responsible for satiation, specifically examining how the caudal nucleus of the solitary tract (cNTS) responds to ingestive feedback.

In high school, I got my first taste of wet lab research in the Chromatin Biology & Functional Epigenomics Laboratory at Chang Gung University in Taiwan.

Publications

Sequential appetite suppression by oral and visceral feedback to the brainstem

Nature (2023)

T Ly, JY Oh, N Sivakumar, S Shehata, N La Santa Medina, H Huang, Z Liu, W Fang, C Barnes, N Dundar, BC Jarvie, A Ravi, OK Barnhill, C Li, GR Lee, J Choi, H Jang & ZA Knight


Before this project, the cNTS' response to ingestive feedback had never been directly observed in awake animals. Using optogenetic methods to record neural activity in mice, we discovered that signals from taste and gastrointestinal stretch can suppress appetite and promote satiety. This challenges the traditional belief that tasty food only stimulates consumption. My specific roles included performing behavioral and fiber photometry experiments, managing mouse colonies, and administering drugs to mice via injections.

Mentors

I'm deeply grateful for the following mentors:

Outside of research

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