Longzhi Tan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Neurobiology
Stanford University

299 Campus Drive
Fairchild Science Building, Room D235
Stanford, CA 94305

Stanford Profile
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Biography

Originally from Wuhan, China, Tan received his S.B. in Physics (minor: Biology) from MIT in 2012, studying evolution with Jeff Gore and Pardis Sabeti.

He earned his Ph.D. in Systems Biology from Harvard in 2018, developing high-precision methods for single-cell genomics with Sunney Xie. He uncovered the 3D structure of the human genome in a single cell, revealed unique chromosome organization in the mouse eye and nose, and measured the true mutation spectrum of single neurons in the normal human brain. Tan also attended the Neurobiology course at MBL in 2014, and worked with Ibrahim Cisse at MIT in 2019.

As a postdoc in Karl Deisseroth’s lab at Stanford Bioengineering (co-mentor: Howard Chang), Tan discovered major 3D genome transformation in the mouse brain after birth.

Tan started his own lab at Stanford Neurobiology in Dec 2022, and discovered evolutionarily conserved 3D genome restructuring over the life spans of both humans and mice.

Tan’s awards include McKnight (2024), PSF MIND Prize (2024), Sanofi iAwards (2024), HHMI FHS Finalist (2023), Baxter Scholarship (2023), BWF CASI (2021), ISFS (2021), Berry Fellowship (2020), Science & SciLifeLab Grand Prize (2019), HHMI ISRF (2015), and IPhO Gold Medal (2008). Outside of the lab, he enjoys designing holiday cards, t-shirts, and music videos, and is a scientific illustrator.

Education

Ph.D. in Systems Biology, Harvard University, 2012/07 – 2018/05

  • Thesis title: Gene regulation and chromatin structure of mammalian olfactory receptors

  • Advisor: Xiaoliang Sunney Xie

  • Dissertation examining committee: Tim Mitchison, Adam Cohen, Xiaowei Zhuang

  • Dissertation advisory committee: Catherine Dulac, Yang Shi, Steve Liberles

Neurobiology summer course, Marine Biological Laboratory, 2014/06 – 2014/08

  • Course directors: Grae Davis, Tim Ryan

S.B. in Physics (minor: Biology), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009/08 – 2012/06

Transfer student from School of Physics, Peking University, 2008/09 – 2009/07

Appointments

Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, 2022/12 – present

Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, 2019/09 – 2022/11

Research Associate, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019/07 – 2019/09

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 2018/06 – 2019/06

Honors

Scholar Award, McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience, 2024

Scialog Fellow in Molecular Basis of Cognition, Research Corporation for Science Advancement, 2024

Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery (MIND) Prize, Pershing Square Foundation, 2024

Innovation Award, Sanofi, 2024

Faculty Scholar, Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation, 2023

Uytengsu-Hamilton 22q11 Neuropsychiatry Research Award, Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, 2023

Innovators Under 35 (China Region), MIT Technology Review, 2023

Finalist, Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2023

Career Award at the Scientific Interface, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, 2022

Star Mentor Award, Bio-X Undergraduate Summer Research Program, Stanford University, 2021

Intersections Science Fellow, Yale University, 2021

Walter V. and Idun Berry Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University, 2020

School of Medicine Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University, 2020

Grand Prize, Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists, 2019

International Student Research Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2015

Philip Morse Memorial Award, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012

Phi Beta Kappa, 2012

Sigma Pi Sigma, 2012

Freshman Fellowship, Peking University, 2008

Gold Medal and “the Absolute Winner,” International Physics Olympiad, 2008

Gold Medal, Asian Physics Olympiad, 2008

Service

Diversity-focused programs

  • Member, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Committee, Neurosciences Interdepartmental Program, Stanford University, 2023 – Present

  • Faculty volunteer, ADVANCE Undergraduate Institute (AUI), Stanford University, 2024

  • Reviewer, Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Opportunity (NeURO), Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, 2024

  • Faculty mentor and reviewer, Intersections Science Fellows Symposium, Yale University, 2023

  • Faculty mentor (2023) and reviewer (2021), Stanford Summer Research Program (SSRP)–Amgen Scholars Program, Stanford University, 2021, 2023

  • Reviewer, Stanford Postdoctoral Recruitment Initiative in Sciences and Medicine (PRISM) Baker Fellowship, Stanford University, 2023

  • Mentor, Community College Outreach Program (CCOP)–Science Small Groups, Stanford University and San Mateo Community College District, 2022

  • Reviewer, Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS), American Society for Microbiology, 2022, 2024

  • Founding member, Postdoc Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Team, Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, 2021 – 2022

  • Organizer, Inaugural Stanford Bioengineering Inclusive Mentoring Workshop, 2021

Faculty search committees

  • Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, 2023 – Present

Ph.D. admissions committees

  • Neurosciences Interdepartmental Program, Stanford University, 2022 – Present

Thesis committees for Ph.D. students: Nick Manfred (Neurosciences; chair)

Reviewer for grants: European Research Council | Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience Innovation Grants, Stanford University

Reviewer for journals: Science | Cell | Nature | Nature Communications | Science Advances | Molecular Cell | Cell Reports | Scientific Reports | iScience | STAR Protocols | Genes | Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology | International Journal of Molecular Sciences | Brain Sciences

Teaching

Instructor

  • NBIO 206: The Nervous System, Stanford University, Winter 2025

  • Week 2 module, Stanford Immersive Neuroscience (SIN) Bootcamp, Stanford University, Fall 2022

Guest lecturer

  • BIOE 291: Principles and Practice of Optogenetics for Optical Control of Biological Tissues (Karl Deisseroth), Stanford University, Fall 2022, 2023

  • Single Cell Analysis Summer Course, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Summer 2023

  • SCRB 155: Epigenetics and Gene Regulation of Human Development and Disease (Jason Buenrostro), Harvard University, Spring 2022

Teaching assistant

  • CHEM 163: Frontiers in Biophysics (Xiaoliang Sunney Xie), Harvard University, Fall 2014

  • LS1b: Genetics, Genomics, & Evolution (Maryellen Ruvolo, Hopi Hoekstra, Kevin Eggan, Pardis Sabeti), Harvard University, Spring 2014

  • 7.32/8.591/7.81: Systems Biology (Jeff Gore), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fall 2011

Volunteer physics teacher in rural schools in Xiaoyi, Shanxi, China, Summer 2009

Outreach & Art

Designed the 4th – 16th (2011 – 2023) Sabeti lab holiday cards featuring the lab’s diverse scientists

  • Reported by The Boston Globe (Johnson, C.Y. “Live from Cambridge, a ‘Saturday Night Live’-themed card”)

  • Reported by The Boston Globe (Johnson, C.Y. “Harvard biologists go Gangnam style for the holidays”)

  • Reported by Smithsonian Magazine (Mnookin, S. “Pardis Sabeti, the rollerblading rock star scientist of Harvard”)

Designed the Sabeti lab t-shirt, “Severely Infected by Science #ScienceIsInfectious”

Photographed Pardis Sabeti’s “One Truth” music video in support for the fight against the 2014 Ebola outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal

  • Reported by NIH Director’s Blog (Collins, F. “From Ebola Researchers, an anthem of hope”)

  • Reported by WBUR (Shea, A. “Why are these scientists singing about ebola?”)

Designed a t-shirt, “Science Is a G(irl) Thing Baby,” with Ridhi Tariyal after the European Union’s “Science: It’s a Girl Thing” campaign

Designed the first t-shirt, “Survival of the Furriest,” of Elinor Karlsson’s Darwin’s Dogs project (now Darwin’s Ark)—the world’s largest citizen science project for pets

Illustrated for the following scientific papers