2025.10 – Present, Principal Investigator, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

2021.08 – 2025.10, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University

2015.07 – 2021.07, Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology and Neuroscience, Princeton University

2014.08 – 2015.04, Research Assistant, Peking University

2010.09 – 2014.07, B.S. in Biological Science, Peking University

The Zhao Lab is interested in studying unique and interesting behaviors that animals have evolved, and the underlying neural mechanisms. The behaviors we study are related to human society in two aspects: 1) some behaviors cause direct harm, e.g. mosquitoes transmit diseases to humans during blood-feeding, causing nearly one million deaths each year; 2) some behaviors mimic those of humans, e.g. parrots exhibit unique capacity to imitate human speech, thus can be used as animal models to reveal brain mechanisms underlying speech learning and production.

One major focus is behavioral plasticity, the ability of the same individual to exhibit different behavioral patterns in different environments or at different life stages. Behavioral plasticity increases the fitness of individuals, also reflects the flexibility and plasticity of the underlying neural circuits. We have established unique invertebrate and vertebrate systems to study this process.

In invertebrates, we have chosen to study mosquitoes, because they undergo major behavioral changes at different reproductive stages and have large impact on public health. We leverage genomic editing, two-photon calcium imaging, and optogenetics to study the behavior and brain of mosquitoes, aiming to reveal fundamental mechanisms of behavioral plasticity and develop next-generation mosquito control methods.

In vertebrates, the more complex brain structure and better learning capacity add a new dimension to behavioral plasticity. The same individual can learn to flexibly switch behaviors in different contexts. Neural mechanisms of such behavioral flexibility remain elusive. We have established parrots as a unique system to address this critical question, because they possess remarkable learning capacity and behavioral plasticity. We leverage high-throughput electrophysiology, calcium imaging, and optogenetics to study the vocal learning circuits of parrots, aiming to provide insight into the mechanisms of speech learning and production.

#: equal contribution. *: corresponding author.

Zhao, Z.* & Goldberg, J. H.* (2025). Comparative approaches to the neurobiology of avian vocal learning. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2025.102993.

Zhao, Z., Teoh, H. K., Carpenter, J., Nemon, F., Kardon, B., Cohen, I., & Goldberg, J. H. (2023). Anterior forebrain pathway in parrots is necessary for producing learned vocalizations with individual signatures. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.014.

Zhao, Z., & Goldberg, J. H.* (2023). Dopaminergic signals for improved parental behavior. Neuron (Preview), 111(4), 452–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2023.01.019

Zhao, Z., Weiss, L., & McBride, C. S.* (2022b). Two-photon calcium imaging in the brain of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols. https://doi.org/10.1101/pdb.prot108070

Zhao, Z.*, Zung, J. L., Hinze, A., Kriete, A. L., Iqbal, A., Younger, M. A., Matthews, B. J., Merhof, D., Thiberge, S., Ignell, R., Strauch, M., & McBride, C. S.* (2022). Mosquito brains encode unique features of human odour to drive host seeking. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04675-4.

Zhao Z., Tian D., & McBride C. S.* 2021. Development of a pan-neuronal genetic driver in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Cell Reports Methods. 1 (3): 10.1016/j.crmeth.2021.100042.

Zhao, Z.*, & McBride, C. S.* (2020). Evolution of olfactory circuits in insects. Journal of Comparative Physiology A. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-020-01399-6

Jové, V., Gong, Z.#, Hol, F. J. H.#, Zhao, Z.#, Sorrells, T. R., Carroll, T. S., Prakash, M., McBride, C. S., & Vosshall, L. B.* (2020). Sensory discrimination of blood and floral nectar by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Neuron. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2020.09.019.