I was born and raised in Xiamen, China, and I got my Bachelor's degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 2017. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, I got my PhD in Biology from Caltech in 2024, working with Alexei Aravin on piRNA and genome defense. Currently, I am a Postdoc and HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow at Cornell working with Andy Clark and Cedric Feschotte on selfish DNA, intragenomic conflicts, and evolutionary biology. In collaboration with Corrie Moreau and Tatsuya Inagaki, I am developing termites as a new model to study these questions. Outside the lab, I like to hike, bike, and explore local boba and coffee shops.