2007 - 2011  B.S., Huazhong University of Science and Technology

2011 - 2014  M.S., Peking University

2014 - 2016  Research associate, Novo Nordisk China R&D center

2017 - 2022  Ph.D., Heidelberg University/European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)

2022 - 2023  Postdoctoral research, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)

2023 -           Principle Investigator, Institute of Biophysics, CAS

Between chemical reactions mediated by macromolecules and living activities of cells lies a gap of dimension and perception. To directly delineate molecular processes in cells in atomic detail represents the future of structural and cell biology. The Xue lab employs cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and other emerging in situ structural approaches to explore the molecular sociology of cells, the basic units of life. The main research directions include:

1. Transcription-translation coupling and other dynamic gene expression machineries assembled by RNA polymerases, ribosomes, etc. in cells and tissues;

2. Develop Bacillus subtilis, intestinal organoid, etc. as new model systems for cryo-ET studies;

3. Method and approach development in integrative in situ structural biology, combining focused ion beam milling, cryo-lift out, in-cell crosslinking mass spectrometry, etc.

1. Liang Xue, Swantje Lenz, Maria Zimmermann, Dimitry Tegunov, Patrick Cramer, Peer Bork, Juri Rappsilber, Julia Mahamid. Visualizing translation dynamics at atomic detail inside a bacterial cell. Nature. 2022

2. Francis O'Reilly^#, Liang Xue^#, Andrea Graziadei^#, Ludwig Sinn, Swantje Lenz, Dimitry Tegunov, Cedric Blotz, Neil Singh, Wim Hagen, Patrick Cramer, Jorg Stulke, Julia Mahamid, Juri Rappsilber. In-cell architecture of an actively transcribing-translating expressome. Science. 2020. (# co-first)

3. Dimitry Tegunov, Liang Xue, Christian Dienemann, Patrick Cramer, Julia Mahamid. Multiparticle cryo-EM refinement with M visualizes ribosome-antibiotic complex at 3.5 ？ in cells. Nature Methods. 2021

4. Bronwyn Lucas, Benjamin Himes, Liang Xue, Timothy Grant, Julia Mahamid, Nikolaus Grigorieff. Locating macromolecular assemblies in cells by 2D template matching with cisTEM, eLife. 2021

5. Xiangrui Zeng, Anson Kahng, Liang Xue, Julia Mahamid, Yi-Wei Chang, Min Xu. High-throughput cryo-ET structural pattern mining by unsupervised deep iterative subtomogram clustering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2023

6. Willem Tichelaar, Wim Hagen, Tatiana Gorelik, Liang Xue, Julia Mahamid. TEM bright field imaging of thick specimens: nodes in Thon ring patterns. Ultramicroscopy. 2020

7. Jian Chen, Liang Xue, Risheng Wei, Shangzhong Liu, Chang-Cheng Yin. The insecticide chlorantraniliprole is a weak activator of mammalian skeletal ryanodine receptor/Ca2+ release channel. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. 2019

(From Liang Xue, September 18, 2023)