Our lab thrives to use cryo-EM single particle analysis (SPA) to study high resolution structures and functions of RNAs and RNPs when their bound protein partners are involved. We are particular interested in pathogenic non-coding RNAs in bacteria, virus and mammalian systems.

Our lab uses cryo-EM helical reconstruction to understand RNA-binding protein assembly mechanisms of single-stranded RNA virus, which will facilitate development of novel antiviral therapy.

Our lab has a long-term interest in applying deep learning algorithm from computer vision to cryo-EM SPA image processing, in order to understand the noise pattern in cryo-EM images and improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and particle alignment accuracy. This may be particularly useful to improve resolvability of very challenging biological systems such as RNA that contains continuous heterogeneity or dynamics in cryo-EM SPA.