Chao Peng, PhD, is currently a research associate in Dr. Virginia Lee’s Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Peng obtained a BS degree with honors in life science from Wuhan University. He then obtained a PhD degree in developmental biology from Fudan University. There he developed new genetic tools to perform somatic mutation screens in models and also explored role of late endocytosis system on neuron survival, migration and dendrite development. Then Dr. Peng joined Dr. Lee’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow and expanded his research from basic neuroscience to neurodegenerative disease. Dr. Peng’s research concentrating on understanding the molecular mechanisms of alpha-synuclein-related neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s with the ultimate goal to develop new diagnostic methods and therapies for these diseases.