Who we are

Current and past lab members

Wei-Li Wu (吳偉立)

Principal Investigator

wlwu@ncku.edu.tw

+886-2353535 #5458


Google Scholar 

Publons 

Research NCKU

生理所中文網站

Department Website


ORCID: 0000-0003-2610-1881
Scopus: 56541997900 

Research Experience

Associate Professor, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, 2023-now

Assistant Professor, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, 2018-2023

Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology, USA, 2018-2021

Postdoctoral Scholar, California Institute of Technology, USA, 2012-2018

Postdoctoral Scholar, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, 2011-2012


Society

EMBO Global Investigator Network, 2025-2028

Director (理事), Taiwan Neuroscience Society, Taiwan, 2022-2026 

International Affairs and Physiology Education Committee (IAPEC), Chinese Physiological Society, Taiwan, 2020-2026

Academic Committee, Chinese Physiological Society, Taiwan, 2020-2024


Education

Ph.D., National Defense Medical Center, Taiwan

M.S., National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan

B.S., National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan

Biography

    Dr. Wei-Li Wu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology at the College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University. Dr. Wu received his M.S. in Marine Biology from National Sun Yat-sen University, where his research, under the guidance of Dr. Hin-Kiu Mok and Dr. Chi-Ying Lee, focused on neurotransmission during aggressive behavior using a fighting fish model. He then completed his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Academia Sinica under Dr. Chih-Cheng Chen, profiling emotion-related behavioral changes in a mouse model with sensory deficits. From 2012 to 2014, Dr. Wu conducted postdoctoral research at Caltech in the late Prof. Paul Patterson's lab, investigating gene-environment interactions in preclinical models of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia, particularly focusing on maternal immune activation. He later joined Prof. Sarkis Mazmanian's lab at Caltech in 2014, where he significantly expanded his research on the gut-brain axis, focusing on how gut microbiota influence brain function and behavior. During his time in the lab, he explored the complex interactions between microbial communities and the central nervous system, investigating their potential role in ASD. This experience strengthened his understanding of the microbial influence on mental health and laid the groundwork for his future research on microbiota-based therapies for brain-related disorders.In 2018, Dr. Wu established his own laboratory at National Cheng Kung University, where his research focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms through which gut microbiota influence brain circuits and host behaviors. His current work explores microbiota-driven neural circuits that govern innate behaviors using microbiome-manipulated mice, aiming to unravel how microbial signals impact brain health.

Current personnel

Tzu-Ting Lai (賴姿廷)

PhD student

110 -114 學年度 國科會&國立成功大學培育優秀博士生獎學金

110學年度 黃崑巖教授獎學金

B.S. National Cheng Kung University

M.S. National Cheng Kung University 

Ph.D. student in the  National Cheng Kung University 

Yu-Hsuan Tsai (蔡于宣)

PhD student

112-116 學年度 國科會&國立成功大學培育優秀博士生獎學金

B.S. I-Shou University

M.S. National Cheng Kung University 

Ph.D. student in the  National Cheng Kung University 

Ru-Qing Zheng (鄭如晴)

MS student

B.S. Chung Shan Medical University

M.S. National Cheng Kung University 

Wei-Chen Chen (陳緯宸)

MS student

B.S. National Sun Yat-sen University

M.S. National Cheng Kung University 

Yu-Chia Yu (游昱嘉)

Undergraduate Researcher

B.S. National Cheng Kung University 

Cheng-Yueh Tsai (蔡承越)

Undergraduate Researcher

B.S. National Cheng Kung University 

Alumni

PhD

Chia-Wei Liou (劉嘉瑋)

PhD '24, Basic medical sciences (2018.09-2024.02)

Thesis: Targeting short-chain fatty acids mediated neural circuits in social recognition and anxiety-like behavior in mice

Ph.D. National Cheng Kung University 

M.S. National Cheng Kung University

B.S. National Sun Yat-sen University


MS

Tzu-Hsuan Yao (姚子宣)

MS '24, physiology (2022.09-2024.08)

Thesis: Short-chain fatty acids regulate neural activity in excitatory neurons of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis

M.S. National Cheng Kung University 

B.S.  National Cheng Kung University


Shin-Mei Wen (文心玫)

MS '24, physiology (2022.09-2024.08)

Thesis: Colonization of commensal gut microbes impacts colonic migrating motor complex ex vivo

M.S. National Cheng Kung University 

B.S.   Soochow University


Jia-Ying Xue (薛家滎)

MS '23, physiology (2021.09-2023.08)

Thesis: Effect of transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation of the whole brain on microbiome and behavior in mice

M.S. National Cheng Kung University 

B.S. National Sun Yat-sen University 


Yu-Hsuan Tsai (蔡于宣)

MS '23, physiology (2021.09-2023.08)

Thesis: Commensal gut microbe modulates stress-induced gut dysmotility through gut-derived metabolites and sympathetic nervous system

M.S. National Cheng Kung University 

B.S. I-Shou University


Yuan-Yuan Lin (林元元）

MS '21, physiology (2019.09-2021.08)

Thesis: The impact of early-life antibiotics exposure on the behaviors and gut microbiota in mice 

M.S. National Cheng Kung University

B.S. Chung Shan Medical University


Tzu-Ting Lai (賴姿廷)

MS '21, physiology (2019.02-2021.01)

Thesis: Gut microbiota-mediated glucagon-like peptide-1 modulates locomotor activity via vagal-dependent pathway 

M.S. National Cheng Kung University

B.S. National Cheng Kung University


Jo-Ting Wu  (武若婷)

MS '21, physiology (2018.09-2021.01)

Thesis: The role of short-chain fatty acid in innate fear response and social behavior 

M.S. National Cheng Kung University

B.S. National Cheng Kung University


Undergraduate Researcher

Hephaes Chow (周佺): B.S. National Cheng Kung University (Oct 2021 - Jul 2023)


Ying-Chia Christina He (何盈佳): B.S. National Cheng Kung University (Oct 2021 - Feb 2023): 暑期研究 (111)


Dong-Ting Ke (柯東廷): B.S. National Cheng Kung University (Oct 2021 - Feb 2023): 暑期研究 (111)


Ilona Chen (陳映蓉): B.S. Boston College (June 2022-Sep 2022 )


Kuan-Min Wu (吳冠旻): B.S. National Cheng Kung University (May 2021 - Feb 2023): 暑期研究 (110); 健康文教基金會暑期研究(111)


Co-advisor

PhD

Robert Midence (康恩宇)

PhD '22, TIGP-INS

Thesis: On Acid Sensing Ion Channel's Mediation of Subtype-Specific Mechanotransduction and Behavior 

(Advisor: Dr. Chih-Cheng Chen @ Academia Sinica)

Ph.D. National Cheng Kung University x TIGP-INS  

B.S. National Taiwan University