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| Xiaojiang Shen | |
|---|---|
| Name | Xiaojiang Shen |
| Fields | Structural Biology; Biochemistry; Virology |
| Workplaces | Peking University; Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences; University of California, San Diego |
| Alma mater | Peking University; University of California, San Diego |
| Known for | Structural elucidation of viral proteins; membrane fusion mechanisms; X-ray crystallography of viral entry complexes |
Xiaojiang Shen is a structural biologist and biochemist noted for high-resolution studies of viral proteins and membrane-associated complexes. His work bridges X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, and biochemical reconstitution to elucidate mechanisms of viral entry and protein–lipid interactions. Shen has held positions at prominent institutions in China and the United States and has contributed to understanding of viral assembly, fusion, and host–pathogen interplay.
Shen completed undergraduate studies at Peking University where he trained in chemistry and molecular biology alongside programs at the School of Life Sciences, Peking University and laboratories affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He pursued graduate studies at the University of California, San Diego in a structural biology group that emphasized X-ray crystallography and biophysical chemistry. During his doctoral and postdoctoral periods he worked with mentors experienced in structural studies of enveloped viruses, membrane proteins, and viral fusion machines.
Shen began his independent career with appointments that included research roles at the Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences and later a faculty position at Peking University where he established a laboratory for structural virology and membrane biochemistry. His group collaborated with teams at the National Institutes of Health and the Scripps Research Institute on large-scale structural projects. Shen’s laboratory employed integrated structural approaches combining X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and in vitro functional assays to study complexes from families such as Flaviviridae, Paramyxoviridae, and Herpesviridae.
He has served on advisory panels for national funding agencies including panels associated with the National Natural Science Foundation of China and participated in review boards for journals such as Nature Structural & Molecular Biology and Cell Host & Microbe. Shen has also been involved in international consortia focused on structural initiatives, collaborating with groups at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the Protein Data Bank deposition teams.
Shen’s laboratory has produced structural models that clarified conformational transitions of viral fusion proteins and their interactions with host receptors and membranes. Notable contributions include X‑ray structures of prefusion and postfusion states of class I and class II fusion proteins, informing understanding of the fusion pathways exploited by influenza A virus, dengue virus, and respiratory syncytial virus. His group characterized receptor-binding interfaces and glycan recognition motifs in complexes involving host factors such as sialic acid-binding proteins and immunoglobulin-like receptors, linking structural features to tropism determinants.
Using cryo-EM reconstructions and hybrid modeling, Shen contributed to elucidation of large assembly intermediates of herpesvirus capsids and tegument interfaces relevant to nuclear egress, collaborating with structural virology teams studying herpes simplex virus and Epstein–Barr virus. His biochemical reconstitution studies of membrane remodeling implicated host lipid composition in modulating fusion kinetics, integrating insights from work on cholesterol-dependent entry and raft-associated factors identified in studies of HIV-1 and influenza.
Shen’s lab also advanced methods in membrane protein crystallization and stabilization, applying lipidic cubic phase techniques used broadly in structural studies of G protein-coupled receptors and other membrane complexes. He promoted application of time-resolved crystallography and single-particle analysis to capture transient intermediates in macromolecular machines, contributing to methodological cross-fertilization with groups at the Advanced Photon Source and cryo-EM centers.
Shen’s scientific achievements have been recognized by national and institutional awards, including prizes from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and early career honors from the Ministry of Science and Technology (China). He has received competitive grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and international fellowships tied to collaborative training programs with the European Molecular Biology Organization. Shen has been invited to present keynote lectures at conferences such as the Gordon Research Conferences on viral pathogenesis and structural biology symposia including meetings organized by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
At Peking University and during visiting appointments at University of California, San Diego, Shen supervised graduate students and postdoctoral researchers pursuing structural, biochemical, and virological projects. His trainees have gone on to faculty positions at institutions including Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and research appointments at National Institutes of Health laboratories and biotechnology companies. Shen taught advanced courses in structural biology, protein biochemistry, and virology techniques, contributing to curriculum development in interdisciplinary graduate programs linked to the School of Life Sciences, Peking University.
- Structural analysis of prefusion and postfusion conformations of viral fusion proteins, with implications for vaccine antigen design, published in journals such as Nature and Science. - Cryo-EM reconstructions of herpesvirus capsid assembly intermediates revealing tegument interfaces, published in Cell. - Biochemical and structural studies of receptor-recognition by flavivirus envelope proteins, published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. - Methodological paper on membrane protein crystallization and stabilization strategies, coauthored with groups at the Advanced Photon Source, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Category:Structural biologists Category:Chinese biochemists