Abstract Genetically modified animal models have been extensively used to investigate the pathogenesis of age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer (AD), Parkinson (PD), Huntington (HD) diseases, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The common feature of these diseases is the age-dependent accumulation of misfolded proteins in the brain, which can be recapitulated in a variety of mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the brains of transgenic mouse models of AD, PD, and HD do not show the striking neuronal loss or degeneration that is a typical pathological feature in patient brains. Species differences between small animals and humans may account for differential pathology in transgenic mouse models and patient brains. Using CRISPR/Cas9 to modify the endogenous disease genes in large animals (pigs and monkeys), the speaker and his research team demonstrate that typical neuropathological features can be mimicked in the brains of large animals.  The findings underscore the importance of using large mammals to investigate the pathogenesis of important brain diseases and their therapeutics. About the Speaker Prof. LI Xiao-Jiang is a Professor at Jinan University. He also serves as the Director of the Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research. Prof. Li obtained his PhD from Oregon Health & Science University and completed his postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University in the US. From 1996 to 2019, he worked in the Department of Human Genetics at Emory University, where he was promoted to tenured full professor in 2005 and has held the title of Distinguished Professor since 2007. Between 2012 and 2016, he conducted research at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he utilized CRISPR/Cas9 technology to establish large animal models of human diseases. In 2019, he joined Jinan University on a full-time basis and currently holds a professorship at the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration at Jinan University. Prof. Li is dedicated to studying early nervous system development, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases, employing transgenic disease animal models such as mice, pigs, and monkeys. He is currently focused on elucidating pathogenic mechanisms using genetically modified large animal models. His research findings have been published in over 250 international journals, including reputable publications like Cell and Nature, with cumulative citations exceeding 33,810 and an H-index of 95. . For Attendees' Attention Seating is on a first come, first served basis.  

Abstract The study of carbon clusters led to the discoveries of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. Are there other elements that can form similar nanostructures? To answer this question, the speaker and his research group have focused on boron clusters, which have been investigated using photoelectron spectroscopy in combination with computational chemistry. They have found that bare boron clusters possess planar structures, in contrast to that of bulk boron, which is dominated by three-dimensional polyhedral building blocks. The discovery of planar boron clusters laid the foundation for 2D boron nanomaterials. In particular, the observation of the planar B36 cluster with a central hexagonal vacancy provided the first experimental evidence that single-atom boron-sheets with hexagonal vacancies (borophenes) were viable. Borophenes have since been synthesized and characterized on inert substrates, forming a new class of synthetic 2D materials. The B40 cluster was found to be an all-boron fullerene, whereas the largest boron cluster (B48–) characterized to date possesses a bilayer structure, suggesting the feasibility of bilayer borophenes. Boron forms important bulk boride materials with most metals in the periodic table. Many transition-metal borides are superhard materials, while lanthanide borides are essential magnetic materials. Metal boride clusters are ideal systems to probe the metal-boron bonding in boride materials. They have observed a quadruple bond between Rh and B (Rh≣B), as well as a lanthanide-boron cage cluster. The study of larger transition-metal boride clusters suggested the possibility of metallo-borophenes. The speaker will also discuss recent advances in their investigation of large boron clusters. About the Speaker Prof. WANG Lai-Sheng obtained his BS in Chemistry from Wuhan University in 1982 and his PhD in Chemical Physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990. He did postdoctoral work at Rice University before he took a joint position in 1993 between the Department of Physics at Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In 2009, he joined Brown University and is currently the Jesse H. and Louisa D. Sharpe Metcalf Professor of Chemistry. Since July 2019, he has been serving as the Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Brown University. Prof. Wang’s research involves experimental studies of size-selected nanoclusters using photoelectron spectroscopy and imaging. Research in his lab has led to the discoveries of golden cages and golden pyramids, planar and aromatic boron clusters, borophenes, and borospherenes. His group has also pioneered the application of electrospray ionization for spectroscopic studies of solution anions in the gas phase, in particular, multiply-charged anions and microsolvated anions. His lab has developed cryogenically-cooled 3D quadrupole ion-trap techniques to create cold anions from electrospray ionization for spectroscopic investigations using photoelectron spectroscopy and high-resolution photoelectron imaging. Current research projects in Prof. Wang’s lab include the investigation of the structures and bonding of size-selected boron and boride clusters, probing noncovalent excited states of cold anions using photodetachment and photoelectron spectroscopy, the investigations of astronomically relevant anions and molecules, as well as the syntheses of ligand-protected gold nanoclusters with in situ catalytic active sites. He has served on the editorial board of Journal of Physical Chemistry, Chinese Journal of Chemical Physics and Chemical Physics Letters. Prof. Wang is the recipient of the 2023 Herbert P. Broida Prize and the 2021 E. Bright Wilson Award in Spectroscopy, both from the American Chemical Society. He also received the 2016 Creativity Award from the US National Science Foundation and the 2014 Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy & Dynamics from the American Physical Society. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 2005, and the American Physical Society in 2003. For Attendees' Attention Seating is on a first come, first served basis.    

Abstract Precision spectroscopy of the hydrogen atom, a fundamental two-body system, has been instrumental in shaping quantum mechanics. Today, advances in theory and experiment allow us to extend such high-precision studies to more complex many-body systems. In this talk, the speaker will present his team's recent laser spectroscopy work on a select class of computable systems — including atomic helium (three-body), molecular hydrogen (four-body), and multi-electron species like CO — where state-of-the-art ab initio calculations achieve spectroscopic accuracy. By comparing experimental and theoretical transition frequencies at the 12-digit level, the team is able to test quantum mechanics and reveal novel quantum phenomena. Beyond frequencies, the team's ppm-level measurements of spectral intensities open applications in primary thermometry, isotopic analysis, and gas metrology. However, persistent interlaboratory discrepancies highlight remaining challenges, motivating further refinement of both experimental and theoretical approaches. About the Speaker Prof. HU Shui-Ming received his BS (1995) and PhD (2000) in Chemical Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), followed by postdoctoral research at Rice University and Argonne National Laboratory. Awarded the prestigious National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars in 2012, he currently serves as Professor of Chemical Physics at USTC, the Director of the Division of Advanced Measurement Instruments at the Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, and Council Member of the Chinese Society for Measurement. His research focuses on developing novel laser spectroscopy techniques with ultrahigh precision and sensitivity, with applications spanning fundamental studies of atomic and molecular physics, chemical kinetics, optical metrology, trace gas analysis, and the development of advanced spectroscopic instrumentation for both scientific and industrial applications.  For Attendees' Attention Seating is on a first come, first served basis.