She received her B.S. in Genetics from Fudan University in China before coming to the United States for graduate studies. Her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology was done with the late Hal Weintraub and Larry Kedes, investigating the molecular mechanisms of gene regulation by bHLH transcription factors in cell fate determination and cell differentiation. She was a HHMI postdoctoral fellow in Chemistry and Chemical Biology with Stuart Schreiber, where she used chemical genetics and functional genomics approaches to study signal transduction and gene expression. Her lab is interested in understanding the logic underlying cellular networks and in developing novel methods and reagents for interrogating molecular and higher-order functions in normal biology and in diseases.