Bo Liang, PhD

I am Dr. Bo Liang, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Emory University and Co-Scientific Director of the Robert P. Apkarian Integrated Electron Microscopy Core (IEMC). My research focuses on the structural basis and physiological roles of biologically essential macromolecular complexes. We aim to determine high-resolution structures and elucidate the molecular mechanisms of large assemblies using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and X-ray crystallography. Our interdisciplinary approach spans biochemistry, structural biology, molecular cell biology, microbiology, and neurobiology. Current research areas include: (1) elucidating the RNA synthesis machinery of non-segmented negative-sense (NNS) RNA viruses; (2) investigating neurobiological disease-related proteins, including membrane receptors, ion channels, and pathological amyloid filaments associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); and (3) defining the structure–function relationships of complex protein, RNA, and ribonucleoprotein (RNP) assemblies.