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UF Health University of Florida
The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute
for Biomedical Innovation & Technology
Huan Bao

Huan Bao, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department: SR-MM-BAO LAB
Business Phone: (561) 228-2570
Business Email: baoh@ufl.edu

About Huan Bao

Related Links:
Huan Bao, PhD website
Additional Positions:
Postdoctoral Research Associate
2014 – 2019 · Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Accomplishments

NIH Director's New Innovator Award
2020-2025 · NIH – NIGMS
Career Development Award
2019-2022 · Human Frontier Science Program
Postdoctoral Fellowship
2015-2018 · Human Frontier Science Program
Award for Outstanding Students Abroad
2013 · China Scholarship Council
Travel Award
2011 · Gordon Conference on Mechanisms of Membrane transport
Four-Year Fellowship
2010-2012 · University of British Columbia
Travel Award
2010 · 53rd Annual meeting of the Canadian Society for Biochemistry, Molecular andCellular Biology

Research Profile

We seek to develop biochemical and genetic tools that allow us to understand and manipulate membrane biology. Specifically, we attempt to expand the function and geometry of lipid nanoparticles (LNP) for mechanistic dissections of membrane proteins. We are using these new lipid nanoparticles to push the frontier in the following four directions: 1) mechanistic understandings of exosome secretion involved in cancer and neurological disorders; 2) structural elucidation of membrane protein complexes unattainable in previous studies; 3) vaccine development and drug discovery to control viral infection; 4) cell reprogramming that would enable continuously evolution of protein binders against cell-surface antigens. We characterize the performance of our tools biochemically, structurally, and in cells and animal models.

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0002-4301-4627

Areas of Interest
  • lipid nanoparticle
  • membrane protein
  • single molecule biophysics

Publications

2022
Author Correction: Circularized fluorescent nanodiscs for probing protein–lipid interactions
Communications Biology. 5(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s42003-022-03859-y. [PMID] 36050395.
PubMed · Publisher’s Site
2022
Circularized fluorescent nanodiscs for probing protein–lipid interactions
Communications Biology. 5(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s42003-022-03443-4. [PMID] 35618817.
3 citations · PubMed · Publisher’s Site
2022
Emerging enterococcus pore-forming toxins with MHC/HLA-I as receptors.
Cell. [DOI] 10.1016/j.cell.2022.02.002. [PMID] 35259335.
10 citations · PubMed · Publisher’s Site
2022
Energetics, kinetics, and pathways of SNARE assembly in membrane fusion
Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 57(4):443-460 [DOI] 10.1080/10409238.2022.2121804. [PMID] 36151854.
2 citations · PubMed · Publisher’s Site
2022
The complexin C-terminal amphipathic helix stabilizes the fusion pore open state by sculpting membranes.
Nature structural & molecular biology. 29(2):97-107 [DOI] 10.1038/s41594-021-00716-0. [PMID] 35132256.
6 citations · PubMed · Publisher’s Site
2021
Developing Nanodisc-ID for label-free characterizations of membrane proteins
Communications Biology. 4(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s42003-021-02043-y. [PMID] 33931748.
5 citations · PubMed · Publisher’s Site
2021
One-step construction of circularized nanodiscs using SpyCatcher-SpyTag.
Nature communications. 12(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41467-021-25737-7. [PMID] 34521837.
12 citations · PubMed · Publisher’s Site
2018
Dynamics and number of trans-SNARE complexes determine nascent fusion pore properties.
Nature. 554(7691):260-263 [DOI] 10.1038/nature25481. [PMID] 29420480.
72 citations · PubMed · Publisher’s Site
2016
Exocytotic fusion pores are composed of both lipids and proteins.
Nature structural & molecular biology. 23(1):67-73 [DOI] 10.1038/nsmb.3141. [PMID] 26656855.
62 citations · PubMed · Publisher’s Site

Grants

Apr 2023 ACTIVE
A cost-effective, high-throughput screening platform for modulator discovery of a-synuclein membrane interactions involved in neurodegenerative diseases
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
Apr 2023 ACTIVE
Probing SNARE assembly and disassembly in vitro and in live cells
Role: Other
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIGMS
Apr 2022 ACTIVE
Developing next-generation nanodiscs for the study and modulation of membrane proteins
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIGMS

Education

Ph.D. in Biochemistry
2014 · University of British Columbia
Master's of Science in Biochemistry
2008 · Chinese Academy of Sciences
Bachelor's of Science in General Biology
2005 · Wuhan University

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(561) 228-2570
Emails:
Business:
baoh@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
Location A227
130 SCRIPPS WAY BLDG 2A2
 JUPITER FL 33458
Business Street:
Room A227
110 Scripps Way
 Jupiter FL 33458