Dr. Sichen (Susan) Shao was recently promoted to Professor of Cell Biology. Susan joined the Department of Cell Biology in 2016. Her lab studies cellular mechanisms that surveil different steps of protein biosynthesis to regulate gene expression and maintain protein homeostasis. How quality control factors distinguish rare aberrant products from similar biosynthetic intermediates is a fundamental problem in biomedical science. The Shao Lab biochemically reconstitutes quality control pathways that act on ribosomes during protein synthesis and that sort membrane proteins to different organelles. Combining these experimental systems with mechanistic and structural approaches generates molecular-level insights into physiological processes essential for cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation.
Congratulations, Susan! Everyone in the department is very proud.