Dr. Tracy Yang assists Choate’s life sciences clients by utilizing her background in neurobiology to help with the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, as well as freedom-to-operate and patentability analyses. Prior to joining Choate, Tracy earned her PhD in neurobiology from Harvard University, where she conducted research at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital in the labs of Dr. Chinfei Chen and Dr. Mark Andermann. Her doctoral thesis focused on characterizing stress-related neuromodulation of amygdalo-thalamic circuitry in rodent models. Tracy’s research involved ex vivo whole-cell electrophysiology, pharmacology, and immunohistochemistry to determine the expression and function of noradrenergic receptors on modulating synaptic transmission. In this work, she routinely used in vivo intracranial delivery of adeno-associated viruses to trace neutral circuits and manipulate neural activity. In addition, Tracy has collaborated on various projects using transgenic mouse models of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorders. Tracy also has multiple years of experience teaching methods in organic synthesis at Brandeis University to undergraduate students. Publications and Presentations “Noradrenergic Modulation of an Amygdalo-thalamic Circuit,” first author, bioRxiv, October 2025 “Modulation of affective information to limbic thalamus: implications for understanding autism spectrum disorders,” presenter, Harvard & MIT Tan-Yang Autism Center Seminar, December 2024 “Noradrenergic Modulation of an Amygdalo-thalamic Circuit,” presenter, F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center “Lab Results” Seminar, December 2024 “Noradrenergic Modulation of an Amygdalo-thalamic Circuit,” presenter, Harvard Neurobiology Departmental Seminar, September 2024 “Astrocytic Regulation of Thalamic Circuit Development and Function,” poster presentation, Harvard and MIT Tan-Yang Autism Center Scientific Advisory Board Meeting, October 2023 “Lateral Septum modulates cortical state to tune responsivity to threat stimuli,” co-author, Cell Reports, October 2022 Education & Credentials Harvard University, PhD (2025) Neurobiology Brandeis University, BS (2020) Neuroscience