معرفی
Yongli Zhang is a Professor of Cell Biology and holds a secondary appointment as an Associate Professor in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms of membrane fusion, protein folding dynamics, and the development of single-molecule biophysical tools. He earned a bachelor’s degree in applied physics from China, a master’s in theoretical physics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University. His postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley under Prof. Carlos Bustamante expanded his expertise in optical tweezers and molecular biophysics.
Key areas of research include regulated SNARE protein assembly, membrane protein interactions, and instrumentation development. The Zhang Lab uses advanced optical tweezers and fluorescence microscopy to study molecular forces in biological processes like exocytosis and endocytosis. Recent work explores SNARE-mediated membrane fusion mechanisms and the role of mechanical forces in protein function. Awards include the Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Sinsheimer Scholar award.
The lab is actively involved in training students and postdocs in biophysical techniques and interdisciplinary research. Collaborations span structural biology, neuroscience, and computational modeling to address fundamental questions in membrane biology and protein dynamics.
