Senfang SUI     Ph.D.

Professor, Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences

1964-1970   B. S., Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University.

1978-1981   M.S., Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University.

1985-1988   Ph.D., Biophysics Institute, Technical University Munich.

1989-1991   Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Tsinghua University.

1991.01-present     Professor, School of Life Sciences (replacing the Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology in September of 2009 ), Tsinghua University.

Research interest

Using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) in combination with biochemical, biophysical and cellular methods, our lab currently focuses on: (1) structures, functions and mechanisms of large protein complexes, macromolecular machines and membrane proteins, and (2) molecular mechanisms of membrane trafficking, lipid-protein interactions and membrane-related human diseases.

Representative publications

1. Li ZQ, Chen S, Zhao L , Huang GQ, Pi X , Sun S, Wang PY, Sui SF*. (2022) Near-atomic structure of the inner ring of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae nuclear pore complex. Cell Research, doi: 10.1038/s41422-022-00632-y. Online ahead of print.

2. Mi CC, Zhang L, Huang GQ, Shao G, Yang F, You X, Dong MQ, Sun S*, Sui SF*. (2022) Structural basis for assembly of TRAPPII complex and specific activation of GTPase Ypt31/32. Science Advances, 8(4):eabi5603.

3. Sui SF*. (2021) Structure of Phycobilisomes. Annu Rev Biophys., 50:53-72.

4. Xiao YN, Huang GQ, You X, Zhu Q, Wang W, Kuang TY, Han H*, Sui SF*, Shen JR*. (2021) Structural insights into cyanobacterial photosystem II intermediates associated with Psb28 and Tsl0063. Nat Plants, 7(8):1132-1142.

5. Hu MQ, Yang F, Huang YW, You X, Liu D, Sun S*, Sui SF*. (2021) Structural insights into the mechanism of human NPC1L1-mediated cholesterol uptake. Science Advances, 7(29):eabg3188.

6. Ma J, You X, Sun S, Wang X, Qin S, Sui SF*. (2020) Structural basis of energy transfer in Porphyridium purpureum phycobilisome. Nature, 579(7797):146-151.

7. Pi X, Zhao S, Wang W, Liu D, Xu C, Han G, Kuang T*, Sui SF*, Shen JR*. (2019) The pigment-protein network of a diatom photosystem II-light-harvesting antenna supercomplex. Science, 365(6452):eaax4406.

8. Huang X, Sun S, Wang X, Fan F, Zhou Q, Lu S, Cao Y, Wang QW, Dong MQ, Yao J, Sui SF*. (2019) Mechanistic insights into the SNARE complex disassembly. Science Advances, 5(4):eaau8164.

9. Qin X, Pi X, Wang W, Han G, Zhu L, Liu M, Cheng L, Shen JR, Kuang T*, Sui SF*. (2019) Structure of a green algal photosystem I in complex with a large number of light-harvesting complex I subunits. Nat Plants, 5(3):263-272.

10. Pi X, Tian L, Dai HE, Qin X, Cheng L, Kuang T, Sui SF*, Shen JR*. (2018) Unique organization of photosystem I-light-harvesting supercomplex revealed by cryo-EM from a red alga. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 115(17):4423-4428.

11. Yang X, Yang F, Wang W, Lin G, Hu Z, Han Z, Qi Y, Zhang L, Wang J, Sui SF*, Chai J*. (2018) Structural basis for specific flagellin recognition by the NLR protein NAIP5. Cell Research, 28(1):35-47.

12. Zhang J, Ma J, Liu D, Qin S, Sun S*, Zhao J, Sui SF*. (2017) Structure of phycobilisome from the red alga Griffithsia pacifica. Nature, 551(7678):57-63.

13. Sun S, Li L, Yang F, Wang X, Fan F, Yang M, Chen C, Li X, Wang HW, Sui SF*. (2017) Cryo-EM structures of the ATP-bound Vps4-E233Q hexamer and its complex with Vta1 at near-atomic resolution. Nat Commun., 8:16064.

14. Hu Z, Zhou Q, Zhang C, Fan S, Cheng W, Zhao Y, Shao F, Wang HW, Sui SF*, Chai J*. (2015) Structural and Biochemical Basis for Induced Self-propagation of NLRC4. Science, 350(6259):399-404.

15. Chang L, Liu X, Li Y, Liu CC, Yang F, Zhao J*, Sui SF*. (2015) Structural organization of an intact phycobilisome and its association with photosystem II. Cell Research, 25(6):726-737.

Contact information

Tel: +86-10-62792083/62784768
E-mail: suisf@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
Lab website: http://suilab.life.tsinghua.edu.cn/