The membrane systems, composed of lipid bilayers, membrane proteins and the surrounding cortex, form the fundamental structures to compartment a cell and its organelles. It is becoming increasingly clear that the membrane-based reactions are not only affected by chemical modifications, such as protein phosphorylation, but also involve crucial physical aspects such as spatial organization, mechano-transduction, phase separation, curvature-sensing, and confinement. All together they contribute to the accurate modulation of cellular functions including signaling transduction on plasma membranes, membrane trafficking in organelle vesicles, and gene transcription near nuclear envelopes. A key question in these systems is how the physical-chemical elements are integrated precisely in mesoscale (10nm-1µm), the scale at which molecules transiently associate with each other to exert a defined function.

In the Physical-Chemical Cell Signaling Lab, we aim to develop sophisticated synthetic chemical-biology tools, and high-resolution imaging methods, to solve challenging problems in the understanding of physical-chemical mechanisms of membrane adhesion and signaling. Specifically, we are interested in applying synthetic cell membranes, single molecule tracking, superresolution imaging, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and other analytical tools to study signaling transductions in the context of neuron mechanobiology and inflammation.

（1） Conformational diversity and fully opening mechanism of native NMDA receptor, Nature, 2026, 第 10 作者

（2） Phosphorylation-dependent charge blocks regulate the relaxation of nuclear speckle networks, MOLECULAR CELL, 2025, 第 14 作者

（3） Palmitoylation of PD-L1 Regulates Its Membrane Orientation and Immune Evasion, LANGMUIR, 2025, 第 4 作者

（4） A bright and regenerative array tag with fluorogenic ligands for long-term live-cell nanoscopy and single-molecule tracking, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 2025, 第 12 作者

（5） A palmitoylation-depalmitoylation relay spatiotemporally controls GSDMD activation in pyroptosis, NATURE CELL BIOLOGY, 2024, 第 8 作者

（6） Mechanical activation opens a lipid-lined pore in OSCA ion channels, Nature, 2024, 

（7） SRRM2 phase separation drives assembly of nuclear speckle subcompartments, CELL REPORTS, 2024, 第 11 作者

（8） Competition for shared downstream signaling molecules establishes indirect negative feedback between EGFR and EphA2, BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2022, 第 2 作者

（9） Patterned Substrate of Mobile and Immobile Ligands to Probe EphA2 Receptor Clustering, BIO-PROTOCOL, 2022, 第 1 作者

（10） KANK4 Promotes Arteriogenesis by Potentiating VEGFR2 Signaling in a TALIN-1-Dependent Manner, ARTERIOSCLEROSIS THROMBOSIS AND VASCULAR BIOLOGY, 2022, 第 9 作者

（11） EphrinB2 clustering by Nipah virus G is required to activate and trap F intermediates at supported lipid bilayer-cell interfaces, SCIENCE ADVANCES, 2021, 第 2 作者

（12） Nanopore-mediated protein delivery enabling three-color single-molecule tracking in living cells, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 2021, 第 1 作者

（13） Probing the effect of clustering on EphA2 receptor signaling efficiency by subcellular control of ligand-receptor mobility, ELIFE, 2021, 第 1 作者

（14） Single-cell analysis of EphA clustering phenotypes to probe cancer cell heterogeneity, COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY, 2020, 第 13 作者

（15） Myosin IIA and formin dependent mechanosensitivity of filopodia adhesion, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 2019, 第 5 作者

（16） Multicomponent Supported Membrane Microarray for Monitoring Spatially Resolved Cellular Signaling Reactions, ADVANCED BIOSYSTEMS, 2018, 第 2 作者

（17） EGFR family and Src family kinase interactions: mechanics matters?, CURRENT OPINION IN CELL BIOLOGY, 2018, 第 1 作者

（18） Spatially modulated ephrinA1: EphA2 signaling increases local contractility and global focal adhesion dynamics to promote cell motility, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 2018, 第 1 作者

（19） Graphene oxide-based Fe2O3 hybrid enzyme mimetic with enhanced peroxidase and catalase-like activities, COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS, 2016, 第 5 作者

（20） Altering the response of intracellular reactive oxygen to magnetic nanoparticles using ultrasound and microbubbles, SCIENCE CHINA Materials, 2015, 第 5 作者

（21） Integrin-beta3 clusters recruit clathrin-mediated endocytic machinery in the absence of traction force, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 2015, 第 8 作者

（22） Silver nanoparticles: a novel radiation sensitizer for glioma?, NANOSCALE, 2013, 第 3 作者

（23） In vitro biological effects of magnetic nanoparticles, CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN, 2012, 第 2 作者

（24） Dual Enzyme-like Activities of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Implication for Diminishing Cytotoxicity, ACS NANO, 2012, 第 1 作者