The research in my lab uses a combination of genetic engineering, optogenetics, in vivo microscope imaging, immunofluorescence staining, and bioinformatic approaches in the zebrafish animal model to dissect the function and the regulatory mechanisms of the gut sensory machinery and the gut-brain interaction axis. We also use the gnotobiotic approach and bacterial genetic engineering techniques to manipulate gut microbial community composition and microbial-derived signals experimentally in the zebrafish to examine how gut microbes interact with the host and how such interaction affects host physiology and behavior.