Liang Lab Current Members - Emory Department of Biochemistry

Bo Liang, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry
Co-Scientific Director, Robert P. Apkarian Integrated Electron Microscopy Core

Dr. Liang obtained his B.S. in Biology and B.E. in Computer Science from the University of Science and Technology of China. Dr. Liang received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics (Mentor: Dr. Hong Li) at Florida State University. Dr. Liang completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology (BCMP) and Microbiology and Immunobiology (MBIB) (Mentors: Drs. Stephen Harrison and Sean Whelan) at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Liang received outstanding training in structural biology, with specific expertise in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), x-ray crystallography, and RNA biology and virology.

Dr. Liang’s primary scholarly focus is on the structures and mechanisms of macromolecules, emphasizing the RNA synthesis machinery of non-segmented negative-sense (NNS) RNA viruses and neurobiological disease-related proteins using integrated approaches of cryo-EM and crystallography. His articles have been published in several leading journals, including Cell, Nature, Molecular Cell, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (NSMB), Nature Communications, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Structure, Viruses, Journal of Virology (JVI), and Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC). Dr. Liang is on the editorial board of the Journal of Molecular Cell Biology (JMCB), JVI, and Viruses and has been invited to review many reputable peer-reviewed scientific journals. Dr. Liang’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Lung Association (ALA), and Emory, and he participates in multiple international, federal, and regional grant and resource application reviews.

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Postdocs, Laboratory Staff, and Graduate Students

Dongdong Cao, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Dongdong is originally from China. He received his B.A. in Biotechnology and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Science and Technology of China, USTC. His graduate research focused on exploring the structure and function of enzymes and immune-related proteins by x-ray crystallography. Dr. Cao joined the Liang Lab as a postdoctoral fellow to work on the structure and regulation of RNA synthesis machinery of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) using x-ray crystallography and cryo-EM.

Member since June 2017

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Zhenhang Chen, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Zhenhang is originally from China. He received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from China Agriculture University. His doctoral thesis project is focused on human Fragile Mental Retardation Protein FMRP, he solved the X-ray crystal structure of the N terminal of FMRP and measured binding affinity between this protein and different post-translationally modified histone peptides. Before joining the Liang Lab, he used Baculovirus Expression System and cryo-EM method to study membrane proteins including human V-ATPase. He also studied enzyme activity and structure biology of structure-specific endonucleases that are essential for a DNA repair pathway named nucleotide excision repair in human and archaea.

Member since September 2021

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Yuqing Wang, PhD
Visting Fellow

Dr. Wang earned my Ph.D. from the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he studied the conformational changes of heat shock proteins and their interactions with co- chaperones (Hsp40) using single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) and cryo-electron microscopy. Previously, during his master's degree, he researched the role of circulating microRNAs in shaping the liver tumor microenvironment.

Member since August 2024

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Julia Hunt
Research Specialist

Julia Hunt is from Milton, GA. She received her BS in pharmaceutical sciences and MS in comparative biomedical sciences from the University of Georgia. While completing her bachelor’s degree, she worked in a biotechnology lab focused on developing a treatment for deformed wing virus in honeybees. Her project was focused on constructing an inducible CRISPR/dCas9 plasmid. While completing her master’s degree, she rotated through several reproductive health research labs and wrote a literature review on the development of next generation contraceptive strategies.

Member since June 2024

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Ashley Kim
Research Specialist

Ashley Kim is originally from Paramus, New Jersey. She received her B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics from Emory University. She graduated with High Honors with her undergraduate thesis under Emory’s Lynn Lab on the three-dimensional structural dynamics of the amyloid-beta(1-42) peptide in relation to Alzheimer’s disease progression using electron microscopy. She has joined the Liang Lab after graduating to continue working on this project and expand her research interests in the structural characterization of amyloids and their connection to neurodegenerative disease. In addition to amyloid-beta(1-42), she is also studying the helical structure of the alpha-synuclein protein in relation to Parkinson’s disease using cryo-EM.

Member since June 2024

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Maurice Terrell Royal
Laboratory Assistant

Maurice is originally from Cleveland, OH. He obtained his B.S. from Youngstown State University. He has previously worked as a blood bank med technician, research technician, and microbiologist. He also has research experience from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, focusing on Neisseria gonorrheae’s interactions with cervical cells. Maurice joined the Liang lab to focus on the insect and mammalian cell culture to support various projects.

Member since September 2020

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Eliseo Salas
Graduate Student

Eliseo is originally from Brownsville Texas. He received his M.S. in biochemistry from Texas State University. During his masters Eliseo worked on the RNA binding protein, LARP6, and characterized its binding to collagen coding mRNAs using different salt conditions. During his transition to graduate school, Eliseo worked for Accel Diagnostics, a startup company focusing on microfluidics devices. The goal of the company is to provide predictive tools which patients can use at home to monitor early signs of chronic heart failure (CHF). Eliseo joins the Liang Lab to work on RSV and to try to understand how NS1 and NS2 help circumvent the innate immune system using cryo-EM.

Member since 2021

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Undergraduate Students

Niko Andrinopoulos
Undergraduate Student

Niko is originally from Burlington, Illinois. He is a Sophomore pursuing a major in both Biology and Human Health on a pre-medical track at Emory University. Niko has always been interested in the sciences and is excited to get his first professional research opportunity in the Liang Lab.

Member since August 2024

Alec Wei
Undergraduate Student

Alec is originally from Haworth, New Jersey. He is currently a sophomore at Emory University majoring in Biology and Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. In high school, he participated in a research project studying the impact of AMPKα-1 and AMPKα-2 levels and beta-amyloid and tau presence on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. He joined the Liang Lab because he is very interested in exploring the onset and factors influencing the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

Member since August 2024

Vivjan Kokeri
Undergraduate Student

Vivi is originally from Tirana , Albania. She is currently perusing her B.S. in Biology and sociology at Emory college of Arts and Sciences. Vivjan has taken part in many biology projects in Albania including Albanian science engineer fair in which she was awarded 2 golden medals and she has taken part in multiple biology and chemistry Olympiads nationally and internationally. She looks forward to gaining hands on experience in the Liang Lab under professional research setting for the first time.

Member since August 2024

Iman Kazani
Undergraduate Student

My name is Iman Kazani and I am from Karachi, Pakistan. I acquired my high school IB diploma from The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa in 2022. Over high school, I participated in school-based research, and I am looking forward to gaining more professional experience at the Liang Lab.

Member since June 2022

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Raina Nagpal
Undergraduate Student

Raina is originally from Mumbai, India. Having received the highest score in her grade 12 Science examinations, she is now hoping to major in Biology and Human Health. She has served as a biology and chemistry teacher for grades 10-12 at various non-profit organizations, as well as been an advocate for teenage girls suffering from polycystic Ovary Disorder. Her knowledge on metabolism and gut health led her to be the youngest individual to conduct paid workshops with online teaching platforms. In addition to this, Raina is also a Sophomore Advisor for first year students, Second Year legislator on the Emory College Council, and Cultural Chair for the Indian Cultural Association. Raina’s previous research focused on biomarkers for cancer cells for Emory’s Lab of Artificial Intelligence. She hopes to further her interest in research by exploring the complexities of reproductive health in women.

Aditya Vyas
Undergraduate Student

Aditya Vyas is originally from India. He completed high school at Tulip International School in India. He has worked on various independent research such as ‘The effects of unintended pregnancies on parents and children’ and ‘migratory patterns of the pintail ducks’. He has been a brilliant student throughout his academic career and received the AP Scholar award along with the national merit certification of India recognizing him as the top 0.1% of students in India.

Member since August 2023

Monish Jampala
GA Tech Undergraduate Student

Monish is originally from Cumming, Georgia. He is a freshman studying neuroscience at Georgia Tech and is on the pre-med track. In his free time, Monish enjoys playing chess and discovering new music. Monish was involved in a 4-year biotech program in high school with a strong focus on lab, fostering a burgeoning interest in research. Monish joined the Liang lab because he was intrigued by the RNA synthesis machinery of viruses.

Member since August 2024

Lan Wen
Undergraduate Student

Lan Wen is originally from China. She is currently a sophomore major in Biology and philosophy at Emory University. It is her first time working in an official research lab. She is looking forward to work with other students to explore about virus.

Member since August 2024

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