ProfessorJianyuan Sunisthedistinguishedprofessorof the Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology (SUAT). He isa recipient of the Outstanding Youth Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China,Hundred-talant scholar of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and previously served as aassistantprofessor atSouthwestern Medical Center of University of Texasin the USA. Hepineered the approach of membrane capacitance measurement in the study of vesicle exocytosis and endocytosis at central synapse.He and his colleagues revealed the mechanism of theCa²⁺dependenceof synchronous and asynchronousneurotransmitter release, which was included in neuroscience textbook. Hislab focuses on the molecular and biophysical principles of synaptic transmission in the mammalian brain.Theprimary interest is to understand the presynaptic mechanism of synaptic short term plasticity(STP) and how it impacts neuronal information encoding.

Synaptic transmission and neuronal information processing

CURRENT TITLES AND AFFILIATIONS

Academic Appointments:

04/2025-Present

DistinguishedProfessor

Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology

Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

PREVIOUS ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

09/2019-04/2025–Principal Investor, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science

09/2008-08/2019-Principal Investor, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Science

11/2002-08/2008-Assistant Professor, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA

EDUCATION

1980-1985 B.S. inRadiophysics

East China Normal University,Shanghai, China

1985-1988 M.S. inRadiophysics

East China Normal University,Shanghai, China

1988-1993Ph.D. inPhysiology

East China Normal University,Shanghai, China

POSTGRADUATE TRAINING

04/1999-01/2002 -Research associate, Washington University, USA

09/1997-04/1999–Postdoctoral fellow, Max-Planck Institute for Medical Research, Germany

Selected publications

1.Chen PH, Shen XF, Zhao SN, Liu ZL, Zhu QW, Zhu T, Zhang SL, Li Y, Mao LQ & Sun J-Y , Measurement of intact quantal packet of transmitters released from single nerve terminal by loose-patch amperometry; Biosensors and Bioelectronics; 181:113143, 2021

2.Xiang, C; Chen, PH; Zhang, Q; Li YH; Pan, Y; Xie, WC; Sun, J-Y ; Liu ZH，Intestinal microbiota modulates adrenomedullary response through Nod1 sensing in chromaffin cells，iScience，24(8): 102849，2021

3.Dai JY, Chen PH, Sun J-Y, Spontaneous vesicle release is not coupled to instant VGCC-mediated Ca2+ influx and is triggered by a Ca2+ sensor with low cooperativity at the juvenile mice calyx of Held synapses, JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE,35(26):9632-7, 2015

4.Qiu XF, Zhu QW, Sun J-Y, Quantitative analysis of vesicle recycling at the calyx of Held synapse, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 112(15):4779-84,2015

5.Acuna C, Guo Q, Burré J, Sharma M, Sun J, Südhof TC, Microsecond dissection of neurotransmitter release: SNARE-complex assembly dictates speed and Ca²⁺ sensitivity, NEURON, 82(5):1088-100, 2014

6.Sun J-Y, Pang ZP, Qin D-Q, Fahim A, Adachi R, and Südhof TC*, A Dual-Ca2+-Sensor Model for Neurotransmitter Release in a central Synapse. NATURE ( article), 450(7170):676-683, 2007

7.Sun J-Y, Bronk P, Liu X, Han W, Südhof TC. Synapsins regulate use-dependent synaptic plasticity in the calyx of Held by a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 103(8):2880-5, 2006

8.Pang ZP, Sun J-Y, Rizo J, Maximov A, Südhof TC. Genetic analysis of synaptotagmin 2 in spontaneous and Ca2+-triggered neurotransmitter release. EMBO JOURNAL, 25(10):2039-50, 2006

9.Sun J-Y, Wu X-S, Wu, L-G , Single and multiple vesicle fusion induce different rates of endocytosis at a central synapse, NATURE, 417(6888):555-559, 2002.( * equally contributed author)

10.Sun J-Y, Wu L-G, Fast Kinetics of exocytosis revealed by simultaneous measurements of presynaptic capacitance and postsynaptic currents at a central synapse, NEURON, 30:171-182, 2001.

Awards

1.Rising Star project for Young Scientist in Shanghai, 1996

2.Max-Planck Fellowship, 1997

3.Recipient of the James O’Leary Prize for Outstanding Research in Neuroscience at Washington University, 2002

4.National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) young investigator Award: Function of Synapsin I and II in Regulating Kinetics of Neurotransmitter Release and Synaptic Depression, 2004

5.Awardee of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China, 2009