Research

Membrane Biology: central to cell life and death. Membranes are dynamic molecular interfaces that integrate biochemical communication, trafficking, and energy conversion. Their composition and organization determine not only cellular identity but also vulnerability to disease. My laboratory investigates how membrane organization governs protein aggregation, synaptic signaling, and cell death — three convergent mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD), cancer, and immune dysregulation. 

We currently focus on protein mislocalization and aggregation at neuronal membranes, where lipid composition modulates toxicity and propagates pathology. To dissect these processes, we build synthetic membrane systems and designer LNPs that bridge mechanistic and translational discovery (Bao et al., 2016, NSMB; Bao et al., 2018, Nature; Zhang et al. 2021, Nat Commun; Xiong et al., 2022 Cell; Shin et al., 2024 Nano Lett; Ren et al., 2025 Nat Commun). These platforms enable us to map lipid-protein interactions, visualize dynamic membrane remodeling, and ultimately reprogram membrane biology to restore function or eliminate disease drivers.

Our long-term goal is to redefine membrane biology as a synthetic and programmable discipline — one in which molecular principles of lipid-protein organization are leveraged to design nanotherapeutics that rewrite or degrade pathological membrane systems. The lab is located in the Membrane Biology Center at the University of Virginia, with ample access to well-equipped imaging, flow cytometry and cryogenic electron microscopy cores in the same building. Funded by NIH and UVA, our research integrates three synergistic directions:

1.  Structural membrane biology of tauopathies and pore formation in neuronal cell death.