We aim to uncover the mechanistic models of macromolecular machines mediating pathogenic bacteria-host interactions at cellular and organismal levels. We focus on the physical barrier of the epithelial surface, autophagy, and the immune response, which are mediated by macromolecular complexes or organelles. Our multidisciplinary team uses state-of-the-art cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and other cutting-edge techniques to study host cell defense capacity and identify new concepts for therapeutic strategies against infectious diseases.

2019     Excellent doctorate degree dissertation at Tsinghua University

2019     The second prize in life science researches at Tsinghua University

2017     National Scholarship for graduate students

2017     Tsinghua academic innovation scholarship

2013     National Scholarship for graduate students

* for co-author; #for co-corresponding author.

1.Li, M. ^#, Tripathi-Giesgen, I., Schulman, B.A., Baumeister, W.^# and Wilfling, F.^#, 2023. In situ snapshots along a mammalian selective autophagy pathway. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(12), p.e2221712120.

2.Liu, J.^*, Li, Z.^*, Li, M.^*, Du, W., Baumeister, W., Yang, J., & Guo, Q. (2023). Vimentin regulates nuclear segmentation in neutrophils. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(48), e2307389120.

3.Zhu, H.^*, Li, M.^*, Zhao, R., Li, M., Chai, Y., Zhu, Z., Yang, Y., Li, W., Xie, Z., Li, X. and Lei, K., 2022. In situ structure of intestinal apical surface reveals nanobristles on microvilli. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(24), p.e2122249119.

4.Li, M.^*, Ma, J.^*, Li, X. and Sui, S.F., 2021. In situ cryo-ET structure of phycobilisome-photosystem II supercomplex from red alga. Elife, 10, p.e69635.

5.Chen, Y.^*, Wang, Y.H.^*, Zheng, Y.^*, Li, M., Wang, B., Wang, Q.W., Fu, C.L., Liu, Y.N., Li, X. and Yao, J., 2021. Synaptotagmin-1 interacts with PI (4, 5) P2 to initiate synaptic vesicle docking in hippocampal neurons. Cell Reports, 34(11).

6.Li, M.^*, Xia, X.^*, Tian, Y.^*, Jia, Q.^*, Liu, X., Lu, Y., Li, M., Li, X. and Chen, Z., 2019. Mechanism of DNA translocation underlying chromatin remodelling by Snf2. Nature, 567(7748), pp.409-413.

7.Liu, X.^*, Li, M.^*, Xia, X.^*, Li, X. and Chen, Z., 2017. Mechanism of chromatin remodelling revealed by the Snf2-nucleosome structure. Nature, 544(7651), pp.440-445.

8.Wang, F.^*, Gong, H.^*, Liu, G.^*, Li, M., Yan, C., Xia, T., Li, X. and Zeng, J., 2016. DeepPicker: A deep learning approach for fully automated particle picking in cryo-EM. Journal of structural biology, 195(3), pp.325-336.

https://smart.org.cn/recruit/research-team/content/post_1151554.html