Li Sai Ph.D.
Associate Professor
2018-present School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor
2017-2018 Oxford Particle Imaging Centre, University of Oxford, UK Senior Research Associate
2013-2017 Oxford Particle Imaging Centre, University of Oxford, UK Postdoctoral Researcher
2009-2012 Physics department, University of Goettingen, Germany Dr.rer.nat.
2006-2008 Physics department, University of Stuttgart, Germany M.S.
2002-2006 School of Physics, Wuhan University, China B.S.
Research interest
My lab focuses on cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and its application in in-situ structural biology, especially in emerging enveloped viruses.
We aim at bridging dimensions between sub-nanometer resolution structures to micrometer scale in in-situ landscapes, a soaring demand in the field of structural biology. To achieve this, we are active in developing cryo-ET methods, including: 1) High throughput cryo-ET and subtomogram averaging at near-atomic resolution; 2) Focused-ion beam milling of cryo samples (cryo-FIB-SEM) and 3) Correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM).
Among the vast applications, we primarily study the emerging enveloped viruses, which are the most threatening pathogens to the public health nowadays. Most enveloped viruses are pleomorphic and impose great challenge for structural biology, cryo-ET and subtomogram averaging are the primary methods in solving their native structures. We aim to shed light on: how are these viruses assembled, and how do they disassemble through membrane fusion, where are their weaknesses?
Selected publications
1. Sai Li: Cryo-electron tomography of enveloped viruses. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 09/2021; DOI:10.1016/j.tibs.2021.08.005
2. Joel D. Allen, Himanshi Chawla, Firdaus Samsudin, Lorena Zuzic, Aishwary Tukaram Shivgan, Yasunori Watanabe, Wan-ting He, Sean Callaghan, Ge Song, Peter Yong, Philip J. M. Brouwer, Yutong Song, Yongfei Cai, Helen Duyvesteyn, Tomas Malinauskas, Joeri Kint, Paco Pino, Maria J. Wurm, Martin Frank, Bing Chen, David I. Stuart, Rogier W. Sanders, Raiees Andrabi, Dennis R. Burton, Sai Li, Peter J. Bond, and Max Crispin: Site-Specific Steric Control of SARS-CoV 2 Spike Glycosylation. Biochemistry, 07/2021; DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00279
封面文章
3. Hangping Yao*, Yutong Song*, Yong Chen*, Nanping Wu*, Jialu Xu*, Chujie Sun, Jiaxing Zhang, Tianhao Weng, Zheyuan Zhang, Zhigang Wu, Linfang Cheng, Danrong Shi, Xiangyun Lu, Jianlin Lei, Max Crispin, Yigong Shi, Lanjuan Li#, and Sai Li#: Molecular architecture of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Cell, 2020; DOI:10.1016/J.CELL.2020.09.018
ESI高被引论文； F1000推荐
入选2020年“中国高校十大科技进展”
4. Alexandra Serris, Robert Stass, Eduardo A. Bignon, Nicolas A. Muena, Jean-Claude Manuguerra, Rohit K. Jangra, Sai Li, Kartik Chandran, Nicole Tischler, Juha T. Huiskonen, Felix A. Rey, and Pablo Guardado-Calvo: Description of the Hantavirus Surface Glycoprotein Lattice and Its Membrane Fusion Control Mechanism. Cell, 2020; DOI:10.1016/J.CELL.2020.08.023
5. Ying Liu*, Yutong Song*, Siyu Zhang, Min Diao, Shanjin Huang, Sai Li, and Xu Tan: PSGL-1 inhibits HIV-1 infection by restricting actin dynamics and sequestering HIV envelope proteins. Cell Discovery, 12/2020; DOI:10.1038/s41421-020-0184-9
6. Yanqing Zhang*, Sai Li*, Xuechen Zhu*, Gaoxingyu Huang*, Chao Zeng*, Qifan Wang, Kunpeng Wang, Qiang Zhou, Wusheng Zhang, Guangwen Yang, Minhao Liu, Qinghua Tao, Jianlin Lei, and Yigong Shi: Molecular architecture of the luminal ring of the Xenopus laevis nuclear pore complex. Cell Research, 05/2020; DOI:10.1038/s41422-020-0320-y
F1000推荐；封面文章
7. Xiaoling Wu*, Hua Yue*, Yuanyu Zhang*, Xiaoyong Gao, Xiaoyang Li, Licheng Wang, Yufei Cao, Miao Hou, Haixia An, Lin Zhang#, Sai Li#, Jingyuan Ma, He Lin, Yanan Fu, Hongkai Gu, Wenyong Lou, Wei Wei#, Richard N. Zare, and Jun Ge#: Packaging and delivering enzymes by amorphous metal-organic frameworks. Nature Communications, 11/2019; 10(1)., DOI:10.1038/s41467-019-13153-x
8. Kamel El Omari, Sai Li, Abhay Kotecha, Thomas S Walter, Eduardo Andres Bignon, Karl Harlos, Pentti Somerharju, Felix De Haas, Daniel K. Clare, Mika Molin, Felipe Hurtado, Mengqiu Li, Jonathan M. Grimes, Dennis H. Bamford, Nicole D. Tischler, Juha T. Huiskonen, David I. Stuart, Elina Roine: The structure of a prokaryotic viral envelope protein expands the landscape of membrane fusion proteins. Nature Communications, 02/2019; 10(1)., DOI:10.1038/s41467-019-08728-7
9. Steinar Halldorsson*, Sai Li*, Mengqiu Li, Karl Harlos, Thomas A. Bowden, Juha T. Huiskonen: Shielding and activation of a viral membrane fusion protein. Nature Communications, 01/2018; 9(349)., DOI:10.1038/s41467-017-02789-2
10. Sai Li, Ilona Rissanen, Antra Zeltina, Jussi Hepojoki, Jayna Raghwani, Karl Harlos, Oliver G. Pybus, Juha T. Huiskonen, Thomas A. Bowden: A Molecular-Level Account of the Antigenic Hantaviral Surface. Cell Reports, 06/2016; 16(1):278., DOI:10.1016/j.celrep.2016.06.039
11. Sai Li, Zhaoyang Sun, Rhys Pryce, Marie-Laure Parsy, Sarah K Fehling, Katrin Schlie, C Alistair Siebert, Wolfgang Garten, Thomas A Bowden, Thomas Strecker, Juha T Huiskonen: Acidic pH-Induced Conformations and LAMP1 Binding of the Lassa Virus Glycoprotein Spike. PLoS Pathogens, 02/2016; 12(2)., DOI:10.1371/journal.ppat.1005418
12. Sai Li*, Christian Sieben*, Kai Ludwig, Chris T Höfer, Salvatore Chiantia, Andreas Herrmann, Frederic Eghiaian, Iwan A.T. Schaap: pH-Controlled Two-Step Uncoating of Influenza Virus. Biophysical Journal, 04/2014; 106(7):1447-56., DOI:10.1016/j.bpj.2014.02.018
13. Sai Li, Frederic Eghiaian, Christian Sieben, Andreas Herrmann, Iwan A.T. Schaap: Bending and Puncturing the Influenza Lipid Envelope. Biophysical Journal, 02/2011; 100(3):637-45., DOI:10.1016/j.bpj.2010.12.3701
14. Felix Hoos,Sai Li, Todd Meyrath, Bernd Braun, and Harald Giessen: Thermal lensing in an end-pumped Yb:KGW slab laser with high power single emitter diodes.Optics Express, 04/2008; 16(9):6041-9., DOI:10.1364/OE.16.006041
* Equal contribution. # Corresponding Author.
Contact information
Lab website：http://www.lisailab.com
Tel：+86-10-62792357
E-mail：sai@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
Address：Biomedical Hall, A318. Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing
