Welcome to the Shan lab!

To translate genetic information into biological function, a nascent polypeptide must fold into the correct structure, assemble with interaction partners, localize to the appropriate cellular destination, and undergo chemical modifications as well as regulated quality control. In the Shan lab, we aim to decipher the molecular basis of diverse protein biogenesis pathways, and to use them as models to understand how accuracy is generated from noisy and degenerate molecular signals in biology.

An overarching theme of our research is to unravel the dynamics of molecular machines engaged in protein biogenesis, which provide the energetic driving force and enable the spatiotemporal regulation of the pathway. We combine the approach of mechanistic enzymology with biophysical tools such as steady-state and single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, NMR, and EPR; these high resolution studies are further buttressed by genetics, molecular cell biology, systems level analysis, and mathematical modeling.

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October 2025

Ruilin and Radek’s paper on temporal regulation of SRP during translation goes online in Journal of Molecular Biology. Congratulations, Ruilin, Radek and Sowmya! Temporal regulation of signal recognition particle during translation

August 2025

Check out Zikun's paper on cotranslational mitochondrial protein targeting in Cell. Congratulations to Zikun and Sunny! Principles of cotranslational mitochondrial protein import

July 2025

Alfred and Ziyi’s collaborative work with Deuerling and Ban labs on protein N-myristoylation is published in Molecular Cell. Congratulations! Mechanism of cotranslational protein N-myristoylation in human cells

June 2025

Check out our new paper on how cpSRP43 coordinates light-harvesting complex biogenesis. Congratulations to Alex! Switchable client specificity in a dual functional chaperone coordinates light-harvesting complex biogenesis

Max joins the lab. Welcome Max!

Congratulations to Sunny for passing his candidacy!

May 2025

Congratulations to Ziyi and Bryce for passing their candidacies!

April 2025

Shu-ou is elected by the National Academy of Sciences as a member in recognition of her distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Congratulations, Shu-ou!

October 2024

Yelim and Sunny join the lab. Welcome!

June 2024

Ziyi and Bryce join the lab. Welcome!

April 2024

Congratulations to Zikun for successfully defending his PhD thesis!

Jan 2024

Shu-ou is the winner of the 2024 NAS Award in Molecular Biology. Congratulations, Shu-ou!

Temporal regulation of signal recognition particle during translation
Ruilin Qian‡, Radoslaw J. Gora‡, Sowmya Chandrasekar, Shu-ou Shan* (2025)
Journal of Molecular Biology.

Principles of cotranslational mitochondrial protein import
Zikun Zhu, Saurav Mallik, Taylor A. Stevens, Riming Huang, Emmanuel D. Levy, Shu-ou Shan* (2025)
Cell. PMID: 40795856

Switchable client specificity in a dual functional chaperone coordinates light-harvesting complex biogenesis
Alex R. Siegel, Gerard Kroon, Changqi Zhao, Peng Wang, Peter E. Wright and Shu-ou Shan*. (2025)
Science Advances. PMID: 40512866

NAC guides a ribosomal multienzyme complex for nascent protein processing
Alfred M Lentzsch‡, Denis Yudin‡, Martin Gamerdinger, Sowmya Chandrasekar, Laurenz Rabl, Alain Scaiola, Elke Deuerling, Nenad Ban* & Shu-ou Shan*. (2024)
Nature. PMID: 39169182

Dynamic stability of Sgt2 enables selective and privileged client handover in a chaperone triad
Hyunju Cho, Yumeng Liu, SangYoon Chung, Sowmya Chandrasekar, Shimon Weiss & Shu-ou Shan*. (2024)
Nature Commun. PMID: 38167697

An ankyrin repeat chaperone targets toxic oligomers during amyloidogenesis
Gupta A, Lu C, Wang F, Chou TF, Shan SO*. (2023)
Protein Sci. PMID: 37433015

Dodecamer assembly of a metazoan AAA+ chaperone couples substrate extraction to refolding
Arpit Gupta‡, Alfred M. Lentzsch‡, Alex Siegel‡, Zanlin Yu, Un Seng Chio, Yifan Cheng, Shu-Ou Shan*. (2023)
Science Advances. PMID: 37163603

System-wide analyses reveal essential roles of N-terminal protein modification in bacterial membrane integrity
Chien-I Yang, Zikun Zhu, Jeffrey J.Jones, Brett Lomenick, Tsui-Fen Chou, Shu-ou Shan*. (2022)
iScience PMID: 35942092

Ribosome profiling reveals multiple roles of SecA in cotranslational protein export.
Zhu Z‡, Wang S‡, Shan SO*. (2022) Nat Commun. PMID: 35697696

Ribosome-nascent Chain Interaction Regulates N-terminal Protein Modification.
Yang CI, Kim J, Shan SO*. (2022) J Mol Biol. PMID: 35278477

Mechanism of signal sequence handover from NAC to SRP on ribosomes during ER-protein targeting.
Jomaa A‡, Gamerdinger M‡, Hsieh HH‡, Wallisch A, Chandrasekaran V, Ulusoy Z, Scaiola A, Hegde RS, Shan SO*, Ban N*, Deuerling E*. (2022) Science. PMID: 35201867

All publications