Research Areas:
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Neuronal Polarization, Synapse Plasticity, and Activity-dependent Refinement of Neural Circuits

Prof. Poo Mu-Ming received his BS in Physics from Tsinghua University in Taiwan in 1970 and PhD in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University in 1974. He went on to work at Purdue University, University of California, Irvine, Yale University, Columbia University, and University of California, San Diego before joining University of California, Berkeley. He was the Paul Licht Distinguished Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology in 2006-2013, where he served as the Head of Division of Neurobiology in 2002-2007, and is currently the Professor Emeritus of Neurobiology. Since 1999, Prof. Poo has also served as the Director of the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Shanghai. He is also the Director of CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology which is founded in 2014.

Prof. Poo’s research focuses on the problems of brain development and cognitive functions such as learning and memory. In the 1990s, he defined a breakthrough research method that could systematically chart how neuronal connections are formed, while also being able to manipulate chemical and environmental factors to observe how these connections then change. He was also the first to discover that neurotrophins can potentiate synaptic transmission.

Prof. Poo has received numerous awards, including the Javitz Neuroscience Investigator Award of the US National Institutes of Health, the Ameritec Prize and the Ray Wu Society Award among other recognitions. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science, a founding member of The Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, and an Academician of Academia Sinica in Taiwan. He has also been involved in HKUST’s development since its establishment. In recognition of his exceptional contribution to science and his distinguished service to the university, Prof. Poo was honored with the Doctor of Science honoris causa from HKUST in 2014.