![](https://nrt-ias.ucmerced.edu/sites/nrt-ias.ucmerced.edu/files/brian_wang_nrt.jpg)
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Brian Wang is a graduate student in the QSB program here in UC Merced. He graduated from UC Merced with a Bachelor's of Science in Biology, emphasis on Cell and Molecular, with a minor in Psychology. Realizing the importance of a close PI, he decided to continue by goal of a PhD and career in the academics under Professor Fred Wolf. His research involves the neural circuit behind motivation and related internal state in Drosophila. Specifically, he looks at how depressive-like state in flies associated with dysfunctional motivational behaviors like anhedonia causes brain-wide neural activity changes. He hopes to contribute to elucidating dysfunctional neural circuitry in depression in order to expand diagnosis of depression into subtypes to help refine/specialize treatment.