Self-introduction:

Dr. Shujun Cai obtained her BSc degree from Beijing Normal University (China) in 2013 and Ph.D. degree from National University of Singapore in 2018. She did her postdoctoral work at Yale University. In 2023, she joined Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) as an Assistant Professor. Her work focuses on using cryo-Electron Tomography (cryo-ET) and cryo-Focused Ion Beam (cryo-FIB) to understand the in-situ structure and mechanism of membrane-remodeling related macromolecules.

Research Interests:

◆In situ structural mechanism of protein-mediated membrane remodeling;

◆Cryo-ET method development;

Professional Experience:

◆ 2023-    Assistant Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology, China;

◆ 2019-2023 Postdoctoral associate, Yale University School of Medicine with Dr. Pietro De Camilli;

◆2018-2019 Research fellow, National University of Singapore with Dr. Lu Gan;

Educational Background:

◆ 2013-2018 National University of Singapore, Singapore (Advisor: Dr. Lu Gan);

◆ 2009-2013 Bachelor (B.S.) in Biological Sciences, Beijing Normal University, China;

Honors & Awards:

◆ Parkinson’s Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships for Basic Scientists, 2020-2022;

Selected Publication:

1. Huang, Y.*, Zheng, T.*, Sun, X., Wang, R.#, and Cai, S.# (2026). In situ architecture of developmentally programmed mitophagy reveals ER-phagophore membrane continuity. Autophagy 22.7 (2026): 1717-1726.

2. Liu, Y.*, Wang, X.*, Zheng, T.*, Niu, F.*, Sun, R., Yang, C., Xu, S., Zhao, Z., Shen, Z., Huang, W., Wang, X., Liu, K., Cai, S.#, Zhang, M.#, Wei, Z.# (2026). Coordinated phase separation and phase transition underlie synaptic ribbon condensate formation and plasticity. Vita.

3. Cai, S., Wu, Y., Guillen-Samander, A., Hancock-Cerutti, W., Liu, J., and De Camilli, P. (2022). In situ architecture of the lipid transport protein VPS13C at ER-lysosome membrane contacts. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 119, e2203769119.

4. Tan, Z.Y.*, Cai, S.*, Noble, A.J.*, Chen, J.K.*, Shi, J., and Gan, L. (2023). Heterogeneous non-canonical nucleosomes predominate in yeast cells in situ. eLife 2023 Jul 28;12:RP87672.

5. Cai, S.*, Bock, D.*, Pilhofer, M., and Gan, L. (2018). The in-situ structures of mono-, di-, and trinucleosomes in human heterochromatin. Mol Biol Cell 29, 2450-2457.

6. Cai, S., Chen, C., Tan, Z.Y., Huang, Y., Shi, J., and Gan, L. (2018). Cryo-ET reveals the macromolecular reorganization of S. pombe mitotic chromosomes in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115, 10977-10982.