Born and raised in Beijing, China, Youtong completed her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at UCLA. She stayed in southern California where she pursued her PhD degree at UCSD and the Salk Institute under the mentorship of Greg Lemke. She is proud to be a Lemkoid. Her thesis work uncovers the critical roles that microglial TAM receptors play in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Her passion in the crosstalk between neuroscience and immunology drove her to the east coast to continue in academia research. She is excited to be joining the collaborative and vigorous Stevens lab and studying the mechanistic regulation of phosphatidylserine exposure in the context of in health and disease. She is also looking forward to embracing the seasonal changes in Boston and exploring the city and the east coast.