Dr. Daxiao Sun received her Ph.D. in Biology from Tsinghua University under the supervision of Prof. Li Yu. She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) and Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), Germany, working with Prof. Tony Hyman and Prof. Alf Honigmann. In 2026, she joined the Institute of Bio-Architecture and Bio-Interactions (IBABI) at SMART as a Junior Principal Investigator.

Dr. Daxiao Sun develops quantitative and cross-scale approaches to uncover the organizational principles governing living systems, from molecular assemblies and cell junctions to tissue architecture. Her research particularly focuses on the biophysical principles underlying multicellular assembly and tissue homeostasis. She pioneered the discovery that surface condensation plays a central regulatory role in cell adhesion, tissue formation, and homeostasis. Using epithelial tight junctions as a model system, she has achieved several internationally recognized advances: (1) Discovery of a new mechanism. She demonstrated that protein surface condensates cooperate with local cytoskeletal dynamics to drive tight junction belt assembly, establishing a dynamic assembly mechanism distinct from the traditional static scaffold model. (2) Establishment of an interdisciplinary framework. By integrating bottom-up reconstitution, biophysical modeling, and tissue-level validation, she established a quantitative molecular-to-tissue research framework and uncovered general principles governing membrane compartmentalization and spatial organization. Besides, during her Ph.D., she discovered that liquid-like condensates function as key platforms for substrate recognition and spatial initiation of selective autophagy, challenging the prevailing view that autophagic substrates are primarily solid aggregates.

Dr. Daxiao Sun has published 13 papers in leading international journals, including Developmental Cell, Nature Communications, eLife, Cell Research, and Journal of Cell Biology, with over 1,000 citations in total, including 4 papers as first or corresponding author. Her work has received broad international recognition. She was awarded the Independent Accelerator Award by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and invited to give a talk at the 2025 GBM Conference.

Major Awards and Honors

• Independence Accelerator Award, German Research Foundation (DFG), 2024

• Poster Prize, Tight Junctions: from Structure and Development to Therapeutics, International Conference, 2023

• Poster Prize, Cellular Mechanisms Driven by Phase Separation, EMBL International Conference, 2022

Research Directions

The development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms depend on precisely coordinated structures spanning molecular assemblies, intercellular junctions, and tissue-level organization. Understanding the hierarchical principles governing these processes is fundamental to revealing the complexity and robustness of living systems.

Dr. Daxiao Sun's laboratory develops quantitative biology and biophysical approaches to investigate how biomolecular condensates regulate cell junctions, tissue morphogenesis, and homeostasis, with the goal of uncovering universal principles underlying cross-scale biological assembly. The group has established an interdisciplinary framework integrating bottom-up reconstitution, quantitative biophysical modeling, and tissue biology validation to elucidate the molecular and physical mechanisms governing epithelial barrier formation.

In the future, the laboratory will extend this framework to cardiac and epithelial barrier systems, establishing a multiscale "molecule–cell–tissue" research platform to study cross-scale assembly, mechano-electrical coupling, and disease pathogenesis. These studies aim to provide new theoretical foundations for early diagnosis and precision intervention in hereditary cardiomyopathies, inflammatory bowel disease, and related disorders.

Main Research Areas:

1. Proteomic and Lipidomic Profiling of Cardiomyocyte and Epithelial Cell Interfaces

Characterizing the molecular composition and dynamic organization of cellular interfaces to understand cell junction assembly and maintenance.

2. Lipid–Protein Coupling in Cell Junction and Tissue Formation

Investigating how lipid–protein interactions and biomolecular condensates regulate cell junction assembly, tissue formation, and homeostasis.

3. Mechanochemical and Electrophysiological Coupling at Cell Junctions

Exploring the coordination between mechanical and electrical signaling at cellular interfaces during tissue formation and functional maintenance.

4. Disease Mechanisms Associated with Genetic Mutations and Lipid Dysregulation

Studying the pathogenic mechanisms underlying hereditary cardiomyopathies and epithelial barrier-related diseases.

5. Data-Driven Multiscale Physical Modeling

Developing quantitative biophysical models to uncover the physical principles governing biomolecular phase separation and multicellular organization.

Selected Publications

1. Hiroyuki Uechi, Daxiao Sun, Yuki Saeki, Tetsuya Hiraiwa, Alf Honigmann, Anthony A Hyman, Erina Kuranaga (2026). A conserved motif tunes Sidekick condensate dynamics to control tricellular junction recruitment during epithelial remodeling. Cell Reports 45. 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117336.

2. Daxiao Sun^#*, Xueping Zhao#, Tina Wiegand, Cecilie Martin-Lemaitre, Tom Borianne, Lennart Kleinschmidt, Stephan W Grill, Anthony A Hyman, Christoph Weber*, and Alf Honigmann* (2025). Assembly of tight junction belts by ZO1 surface condensation and local actin polymerization. Developmental Cell 60, 1234-1250.e1236. 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.12.012.

3. Xueping Zhao^#, Daxiao Sun^#, Giacomo Bartolucci, Anthony A Hyman, Alf Honigmann, and Christoph A Weber (2025). Theory of non-dilute surface binding and phase separation applied to membrane-binding proteins. eLife 14:RP105980 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.105980.1 

4. Xuezhao Feng^#, Daxiao Sun^#*, Yanchang Li^#, Jinpei Zhang^#, Shiyu Liu, Dachuan Zhang, Jingxiang Zheng, Qing Xi, Haisha Liang, Wenkang Zhao, Ying Li, Mengbo Xu, Jiayu He, Tong Liu, Ayshamgul Hasim, Meisheng Ma, Ping Xu*, and Na Mi* (2023). Local membrane source gathering by p62 body drives autophagosome formation. Nat Commun 14, 7338. 10.1038/s41467-023-42829-8. 

5. Zheng Shen, Daxiao Sun, Adriana Savastano, Sára Joana Varga, Maria-Sol Cima-Omori, Stefan Becker, Alf Honigmann, and Markus Zweckstetter (2023). Multivalent Tau/PSD-95 interactions arrest in vitro condensates and clusters mimicking the postsynaptic density. Nat Commun 14, 6839. 10.1038/s41467-023-42295-2. 

6. Daxiao Sun, Isabel LuValle-Burke, Karina Pombo-García, and Alf Honigmann (2022). Biomolecular condensates in epithelial junctions. Curr Opin Cell Biol 77: 102089. 10.1016/j.ceb.2022.102089. 

7. Xuezhao Feng, Wanqing Du, Mingrui Ding, Wenkang Zhao, Xirenayi Xirefu, Meisheng Ma, Yuhui Zhuang, Xiaoyu Fu, Jiangfeng Shen, Jinpei Zhang, Xiuying Lei, Daxiao Sun, Qing Xi, Yiliyasi Aisa, Qian Chen, Ying Li, Wenjuan Wang, Shanjin Huang, Li Yu, Pilong Li, and Na Mi (2022). Myosin 1D and the branched actin network control the condensation of p62 bodies. Cell Res 32(7): 659-669. 10.1038/s41422-022-00662-6.

8. Yukako Oda, Chisato Takahashi, Shota Harada, Shun Nakamura, Daxiao Sun, Kazumi Kiso, Yuko Urata, Hitoshi Miyachi, Yoshinori Fujiyoshi, Alf Honigmann, Seiichi Uchida, Yasushi Ishihama, and Fumiko Toyoshima (2021). Discovery of anti- inflammatory physiological peptides that promote tissue repair by reinforcing epithelial barrier formation. Science Advances 7(47). 10.1126/sciadv.abj6895. 

9. Yuting Zhao, Zhongju Zou, Daxiao Sun, Yue Li, Sangita C Sinha, Li Yu, Lynda Bennett, and Beth Levine (2021). GLIPR2 is a negative regulator of autophagy and the BECN1-ATG14-containing phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase complex. Autophagy 17(10): 2891-2904. 10.1080/15548627.2020.1847798. 

10. Qi Pan, Daxiao Sun, Jianfeng Xue, Jie Hao, Hansen Zhao, Xijian Lin, Li Yu, and Yan He (2021). "Real-Time Study of Protein Phase Separation with Spatiotemporal Analysis of Single-Nanoparticle Trajectories." ACS Nano 15(1): 539-549. 10.1021/acsnano.0c05486.

11. Daxiao Sun, Rongbo Wu, Pilong Li, and Li Yu (2020). Phase Separation in Regulation of Aggrephagy. Journal of Molecular Biology 432(1): 160-169. 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.06.026.

12. Daxiao Sun^#, Rongbo Wu^#, Jingxiang Zheng, Pilong Li, and Li Yu (2018). Polyubiquitin chain-induced p62 phase separation drives autophagic cargo segregation. Cell Res 28, 405-415. 10.1038/s41422-018-0017-7. 

13. Rui Chen, Yilong Zou, Dongxue Mao, Daxiao Sun, Guanguang Gao, Jingwen Shi, Xiaoqing Liu, Chen Zhu, Mingyu Yang, Wanlu Ye, Qianqian Hao, Ruiqiang Li, and Li Yu (2014). The general amino acid control pathway regulates mTOR and autophagy during serum/glutamine starvation. J Cell Biol 206, 173-182. 10.1083/jcb.201403009.