Self-introduction

Dr. Kaige Yan received his Ph.D. from Tsinghua University in 2016. Following a four-year postdoctoral tenure with Prof. David Barford at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, he joined the Department of Biology at SUSTech as an Assistant Professor in October 2020. Building on his expertise in deciphering large macromolecular assemblies using high-resolution electron microscopy, Dr. Yan's current research centers on metabolic regulation. His group employs a multidisciplinary approach—combining cryo-EM, biochemistry, and molecular biology—to elucidate the structure and function of metabolic machinery.

Research Interests：

Our laboratory integrates cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), biochemistry, and molecular/cellular biology to elucidate the high-resolution structures and dynamic regulatory mechanisms of macromolecular machines governing metabolism. Current research focuses on:

1. Precision Regulation of Glycogen Homeostasis — Focusing on megacomplexes such as Phosphorylase Kinase (PhK) and Glycogen Debranching Enzyme (GDE), we decipher their assembly modes and dynamic activation mechanisms to define the molecular basis of cellular energy balance.

2. Amino Acid Transport and Targeted Intervention in the Tumor Microenvironment — We elucidate the substrate recognition and gating mechanisms of solute carriers (e.g., SLC6A6/TauT) and leverage these insights to design small-molecule inhibitors, exploring novel therapeutic strategies to reprogram the tumor immune microenvironment.

Professional Experience：

2020 – Present Assistant Professor in Southern University of Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen, China.

2016 – 2020 Postdoctoral scientist in MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Group Leader: Prof. David Barford

Educational Background：

2011 – 2016 Ph.D. candidate majored in Structural Biology, Biophysics. Received Ph.D. Degree from School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, China.

Advisor: Prof. Ning Gao & Jianlin Lei

2007 – 2011 Majored in Biophysics. Received B.S. Degree from Department of Applied Physics and School of Physics, Nankai University, China

Selected Publication：

1. Ma R*, Du B*, Shi C*, Wang L, Zeng F, Han J, Guan H, Wang Y#, Yan K#. Molecular basis for the regulation of human phosphorylase kinase by phosphorylation and Ca²⁺. Nature Communications. 2025;16(1):3020. (#co-corresponding author; *co-first author)

2. Guan H*, Chen H*, Geng H*, Ma R, Liu Z, Wang Y, Chen Y#, Yan K#. Molecular architecture and catalytic mechanism of human glycogen debranching enzyme. Nature Communications. 2025;16(1):5962.

3. Du B*, Cheng L*, Xie J*, Chen L#, Yan K#. Molecular basis of human taurine transporter uptake and inhibition. Nature Communications. 2025;16(1):7394.

4. Liu Y*, Zhang Z*, Hu H, Chen W, Zhang F, Wang Q, Wang C, Yan K#, Du J#. Molecular basis of chromatin remodelling by DDM1 involved in plant DNA methylation. Nature Plants. 2024;10(3):374–380.

5. Xin J*, Zhou Y*, Qiu Y*, Geng H, Wang Y, Song Y#, Liang J#, Yan K#. Structural insights into AtABCG25, an angiosperm-specific abscisic acid exporter. Plant Communications. 2024;5(1):100776.

6. Ma T*, Wang L*, Chai A*, Liu C, Cui W, Yuan S, Au SWN, Sun L, Zhang X, Zhang Z, Lu J, Gao Y, Wang P, Li Z, Liang Y, Vogel H#, Wang YT#, Wang D#, Yan K#, Zhang H#. Cryo-EM structures of ClC-2 chloride channel reveal the blocking mechanism of its specific inhibitor AK-42. Nature Communications. 2023;14(1):3424.

7. Zhang H, Wang S, Zhang Z, Hou M, Du C, Zhao Z, Vogel H, Li Z, Yan K, Zhang X, Lu J, Liang Y, Yuan S, Wang D#, Zhang H#. Cryo-EM structure of human heptameric pannexin 2 channel. Nature Communications. 2023;14(1):1118.

8. Du X*, Yang Z*, Xie G, Wang C, Zhang L, Yan K, Yang M, Li S, Zhu JK, Du J#. Molecular basis of the plant ROS1-mediated active DNA demethylation. Nature Plants. 2023;9(2):271-279.

9. Niu F*, Liu Y*, Sun K, Xu S, Dong J, Yu C, Yan K, Wei Z#. Autoinhibition and activation mechanisms revealed by the triangular-shaped structure of myosin Va. Science Advances. 2022;8(49):4187.

10. Yan K*, Yang J*, Zhang Z*, McLaughlin SH, Chang L, Fasci D, Ehrenhofer-Murray AE, Heck AJR, Barford D#. Structure of the inner kinetochore CCAN complex assembled onto a centromeric nucleosome. Nature. 2019;574(7777):278–282.

11. Yan K*, Zhang Z*, Yang J, McLaughlin SH, Barford D#. Architecture of the CBF3–centromere complex of the budding yeast kinetochore. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 2018;25(12):1103–1110.

12. Zhang D*, Yan K*, Liu G, Song G, Luo J, Shi Y, Cheng E, Wu S, Jiang T, Lou J, Gao N#, Qin Y#. EF4 disengages the peptidyl-tRNA CCA end and facilitates back-translocation on the 70S ribosome. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 2016;23(2):125–131.

13. Zhang D*, Yan K*, Zhang Y*, Liu G, Cao X, Song G, Xie Q#, Gao N#, Qin Y#. New insights into the enzymatic role of EF-G in ribosome recycling. Nucleic Acids Research. 2015;43(21):10525–10533.

14. Zhang X*, Yan K*, Zhang Y, Li N, Ma C, Li Z, Zhang Y, Feng B, Liu J, Sun Y, Xu Y, Lei J#, Gao N#. Structural insights into the function of a unique tandem GTPase EngA in bacterial ribosome assembly. Nucleic Acids Research. 2014;42(21):13430–13439.

15. Gu J*, Wu M*, Guo R*, Yan K, Lei J, Gao N#, Yang M#. The architecture of the mammalian respirasome. Nature. 2016;537(7622):639–643.

16. Wu S*, Tutuncuoglu B, Yan K, Brown H, Zhang Y, Tan D, Gamalinda M, Yuan Y, Li Z, Jakovljevic J, Ma C, Lei J, Dong MQ, Woolford JL Jr#, Gao N#. Diverse roles of assembly factors revealed by structures of late nuclear pre-60S ribosomes. Nature. 2016;534(7605):133–137.

17. Yatskevich S*, Kroonen JS, Alfieri C, Tischer T, Howes AC, Clijsters L, Yang J, Zhang Z, Yan K, Vertegaal ACO, Barford D#. Molecular mechanisms of APC/C release from spindle assembly checkpoint inhibition by APC/C SUMOylation. Cell Reports. 2021;34(13):108929.

18. Wang W*, Li W*, Ge X*, Yan K, Mandava CS, Sanyal S#, Gao N#. Loss of a single methylation in 23S rRNA delays 50S assembly at multiple late stages and impairs translation initiation and elongation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020;117(27):15609-15619.

19. Ma C*, Wu S, Li N, Chen Y, Yan K, Li Z, Zheng L, Lei J, Woolford JL Jr, Gao N. Structural snapshot of cytoplasmic pre-60S ribosomal particles bound by Nmd3, Lsg1, Tif6 and Reh1. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 2017;24(3):214-220.

20. Ma C*, Yan K, Tan D, Li N, Zhang Y, Yuan Y, Li Z, Dong MQ, Lei J, Gao N. Structural dynamics of the yeast Shwachman-Diamond syndrome protein (Sdo1) on the ribosome and its implication in the 60S subunit maturation. Protein Cell. 2016;7(3):187-200.

21. Zhang J*, Pan X, Yan K, Sun S, Gao N#, Sui SF#. Mechanisms of ribosome stalling by SecM at multiple elongation steps. Elife. 2015;4: e09684.

22. Yang Z*, Guo Q*, Goto S, Chen Y, Li N, Yan K, Zhang Y, Muto A, Deng H, Himeno H, Lei J#, Gao N#. Structural insights into the assembly of the 30S ribosomal subunit in vivo: functional role of S5 and location of the 17S rRNA precursor sequence. Protein Cell. 2014;5(5):394-407.