Zongqiang Li

Zongqiang Li serves as Assistant Professor and doctoral supervisor in the Department of Pharmacology at the School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) since July 2024. Previously, he completed his PhD at Tsinghua University (2017-2022) followed by postdoctoral research at Tsinghua's School of Life Sciences (2022-2024).

Education:

• PhD in Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University (2017-2022)
• M.D. in Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University (2013-2016)
• B.S. in Animal and Plant Quarantine, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology (2009-2013)

Dr. Li's research focuses on structural and molecular mechanisms of disease-related biomolecules, with particular emphasis on nuclear pore complex dysfunction in neurodegenerative disorders and pathogen-host cell interactions. His laboratory employs integrated approaches including cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and structural biology to investigate these complex biological systems. His work bridges fundamental structural insights with disease mechanisms, providing critical understanding of cellular processes underlying human diseases.

His publication record demonstrates significant contributions to structural biology, with first-author papers in top-tier journals including Nature, Cell, and Cell Research. His research spans multiple domains including nuclear transport machinery, bacterial pathogenesis mechanisms, viral infection processes, and CRISPR systems, reflecting both depth in structural techniques and breadth across biological systems.

Scientific Awards:

• Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, Tsinghua University (2022)
• Special Postdoctoral Fund, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences (2022)
• Distinguished Scholar, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure (2023)
• Best Poster Award, 8th National Symposium of Cryo-EM and Structural Biology (2023)
• Best Poster Award, Chinese Biophysics Congress (2022)

As a doctoral supervisor at SUSTech, Dr. Li leads a research group investigating biomolecular structures related to disease mechanisms. His research program is supported by multiple competitive grants including the National Natural Science Foundation of China and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation projects. These funding sources enable his team to pursue cutting-edge structural biology research using advanced techniques including cryo-electron microscopy.

His laboratory represents an important node in China's structural biology research ecosystem, connecting with major research centers including Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure and leveraging SUSTech's advanced research infrastructure including the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center.