Research

Membrane Biology: central to cell life and death. The origin of life involves enfolding a compartment to store material and information. As such, all cells and most cellular organelles are surrounded by membranes. This compartmentalization is vital for their specific function, but also requires fast and efficient communication among them to maintain homeostasis. To fulfill this need, membrane proteins, macromolecules embedded in or associated with the lipid bilayer, constantly catalyze myriad biochemical reactions across these water-impermeable barriers. These proteins are critical to promoting material shuttling, signal, and energy transduction in and out of the cell and its organelles. Thus, 20-30% genes encode membrane proteins, whose defects underlie the cause of many human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, to name but a few. The Bao research group is broadly interested in all aspects of cell membranes and currently focuses on the membrane biology of cell communication (Bao et al., 2016, NSMB; Bao et al., 2018, Nature; Zhang et al. 2021, Nat Commun; Xiong et al., 2022 Cell). Using a combination of biochemical reconstitution, cell biology and structural approaches, we seek to elucidate how membranes and membrane proteins mediate exocytosis and cell death. Based on the findings from our basic research, we are also developing novel strategies to reprogram membrane biology for therapeutic development against human disease. 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, we are looking for highly motivated postdocs in the following areas: 

1.  Structural Membrane Biology using cryoEM/ET.