Zhicheng Cui | 崔志成

I’ve officially started my lab at Monash University! 🎉 We’re diving into #cellgrowth and #lysosome biology, through the lens of molecular #structure and mechanism. I’m thrilled to say that PhD student scholarships are available—so please share widely and get in touch if you’re interested. 🤩

At #BPS2026? 🧬 Come talk structural biology & mTORC1 signaling! I'll be at Poster B220 this Tuesday, 2:45–3:45 PM. I’m also building the Cui Lab at CU Anschutz and looking for postdocs/students interested in Cryo-EM and ML. Let's chat! 🧪🏔️ #Biophysics #CryoEM #StructuralBiology

This one is a bit of a departure from the usual and definitely a work in progress! We found that by using ab initio reconstruction at very high res, in very small steps, we could crack some small structures that had eluded us - e.g. 39kDa iPKAc (EMPIAR-10252), below. Read on for details... 1/x

Finally in @nature.com 🎉 We uncovered step-wise mTORC1 activation on membrane: RAG–Ragulator recruits, RHEB pushes closer, and direct membrane contacts by RAPTOR + mTOR trigger full kinase activity.👉 The membrane is not just a platform — it’s part of the mechanism. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Extremely excited to share that I’m joining Columbia University @columbiauniversity.bsky.social as an Assistant Professor! We will explore how the mobile genome works—how transposons shape us, our DNA and how they can be harnessed to build useful technologies. #NewPI #RNAsky #TEsky thawanilab.org

Krista Freeman et al 𝘊𝘌𝘓𝘓 stunning atomic-level imaging (Cryo-EM, cryo-ET) reveals how 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐞 Bxb1 reshapes its tail tip to breach the mycobacterial cell wall and deliver DNA to the cytoplasm can inform precise targeted phage therapies for TB and NTM infections www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

SO excited to share that a major part of the postdoctoral work in @robzonculab.bsky.social lab is now published: “Leucine aminopeptidase LyLAP enables lysosomal degradation of membrane proteins” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

15 bookmark-worthy tools for researchers that cost you nothing and will save you time (& nerves) when researching, writing and publishing. A thread. 🧵

I am very happy to share that my work on active deformations of lipid vesicles is finally out in Nature Physics. A nicer thread+movies coming soon, in the meantime: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Thx to Andreas, Hammad, Dmitry, Gerhard @laynefrechette.bsky.social and everybody else who contributed!

There are days in life that shake you. I’m shattered 💔 to share that I just found out that the US Government terminated my 2024 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (~$2 million), threatening my long-promised assistant professor job at Columbia University & academic career... 1/🧵

Excited to see work led by @autophazeke.bsky.social, @minghaochen.bsky.social, Thanh Nguyen, and Ainara Claveras out in @science.org today, the culmination of a 15-year project to understand structurally how the synthesis of the critical lipid of autophagy, PI3P, is regulated. tinyurl.com/ywvjh8u4

Our new FASEBJ paper. We looked into mTOR Ser1261 phosphorylation in human and mouse muscle, proposed by Diane Fingar's lab to be first an Akt and then AMPK site regulating mTORC1 and 2 activity. Clearly AMPK site but impact on mTORC unclear in our hands faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1096/...

Mitochondria consist of networks of cylindrical tubes, right? Not necessarily! - in our new preprint, @gavsturm.bsky.social investigates how mitochondria transiently adopt a beads-on-a-string morphology www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

You want to build an apparatus for time-resolved cryo-EM? Easy: bio-protocol.org/en/bpdetail?...

Exciting news! #MembraneTrafficking online seminars with @felixmendu.bsky.social @franbottanelli.bsky.social and me are back! Check the spectacular Jan-April 2025 lineup. Details (Zoom links, calendar invites) on the mailing list, Slack group & website: felixcampelo.wixsite.com/membranetraf...

Scientific Director, Cal-Cryo. We are looking for an outstanding microscopist to run our cryo-EM facility (two Krioses and an Arctica), increase training, engagement, and collaboration on campus, expand our user base, and join our community of cutting edge cryo-EM researchers. tinyurl.com/ykasna3p

Unsolicited writing advice, no #7262: When you're editing a project, try changing the font before you start. It tricks your brain into seeing your words anew, making it easier to spot typos or areas that might need work.

Wow. This is the first neat paper of 2025! From a baby plate of HEK cells and a uL column

🚨 Out now! @marcoyannic.bsky.social and his former colleagues at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub have unveiled a new study in Cell. The team led by Manuel Leonetti mapped the subcellular distribution of thousands of proteins to create an atlas of the human proteome ➡️ tinyurl.com/ypn65duk @univie.ac.at

How eating fiber->short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolites->anti-cancer effects nature.com/articles/s42... nature.com/articles/s42...

Every year, I give my lab (and myself) a "mini-sabbatical" to pursue creative endeavors outside of regular work/studies. So I spent some time reflecting on my thoughts on #AI + the role of professors in this AI transformation via a short film 📽️: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MPs... #AcademicSky

Instead of listing my publications, as the year draws to an end, I want to shine the spotlight on the commonplace assumption that productivity must always increase. Good research is disruptive and thinking time is central to high quality scholarship and necessary for disruptive research.

Check out the latest Discover ASAP episode with @doroteaartscience.bsky.social, a member of CRN Team Hurley, who is making science beautiful and accessible. From mitophagy to #PD research, her work shows how #OpenScience thrives with clear, creative communication. Learn more 🖼️ 🎥: bit.ly/3VK6Dt4

"Till you have sequence confirmation, you are not cloning but clowning." 🧬⭕🤡 - Lab Saying. #PILife #AlwaysBeCloning

1/ A new series of #CryoSPARC tutorial videos from this year’s S2C2 #cryoEM image processing workshop are now online! These videos will be interesting to all users and especially those newer to #cryoEM. www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

So excited to present my work at #CellBio2024 San Diego 14-18 Dec within the #Science and #Art Subgroup: Bridging Two Creative Universes. My talk “The Art of Science: Making Ideas Visible” is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec 17 - 5:05 pm, Room 33B. Abstract booklet: Abstract 2010, S368. Come join us!

Who are some amazing cryoEM/cryoET, mass spec, and light microscopy scientists coming to San Diego for ASCB? I’m making a list for a potential pre-ASCB workshop at UCSD December 13th. Spread the word and let me know if you know a good candidate to speak at such an event!

Thrilled to have the printed science art by Dorotea @doroteaartscience.bsky.social, Please check her website: my-art-science.com, IG: my_art_and_science, LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dorotea-f.... She will be exhibiting some of her art at the #ASCB2024 Art/Science UCSD Park & Market on Dec 17th!

So excited to share our work developing a new class of modular synthetic GPCRs, out today @Nature! Check it out nature.com/articles/s41...

Very excited to present the structural and mechanistic basis for stress response silencing by the monster E3 ligase SIFI. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Too often we spend only two weeks choosing a problem and then many years trying to solve it, but this limits our potential impact. For more listen to this really interesting @nightsciencepod.bsky.social episode! Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6KMh... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...

How to write a grant? 1. The application is for the reviewer, not you, the applicant. 2. Communicate in stories. 3. Make your story cohesive—leave no puzzling gaps. 4. Make your story resonate to keep the reviewer reading. 5. Accept chance and noise in peer-review. www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10....

🚨 Our story on the TSC:WIPI3 lysosomal-recruitment complex is now live in Science Advances. Equal-first co-authors @luptoncj.bsky.social & Laura D'Andrea. Work lead by @drellisdon.bsky.social. Funding from @deptofdefense.bsky.social & Australian Research Council. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

First post on bluesky gotta be the structure of mTORC1 on membrane! A great collaboration and interesting frontier for SPA cryoEM!