Principal Investigator
Liyun Miao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University, where she leads the lab studying early development and chromatin regulation.
She received her Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from Qingdao University, completed her PhD with Dr. Jian Zhang at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, focusing on translational regulation of sex determination, oogenesis, and oocyte maturation, and then pursued postdoctoral research with Dr. Antonio Giraldez at Yale University, where she studied how pioneer factors regulate chromatin to activate a silent genome and orchestrate early development.
Undergraduate Student
Hanna Crouse is a undergraduate student majoring in Biological Sciences at FSU.
Hanna graduated from H.B. Plant High School before coming to Florida State University, where she developed a strong interest in molecular biology and early developmental processes. Hanna joined the Miao Lab through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) in November 2025. She is particularly interested in exploring how genetic and molecular mechanisms shape early development and hopes to continue to pursue research in related fields. In her free time, Hanna enjoys playing on the women’s club basketball team at FSU and being involved in the Chi Omega Gamma Chapter as well.