We study molecular mechanisms of protein targeting to organelles and related quality control pathways using biochemical and structural approaches
Many proteins move across cellular membranes during or soon after synthesis by ribosomes. In eukaryotes, more than one third of proteins are targeted to organelles, such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER), peroxisomes, mitochondria, and plastids, and translocated by protein-conducting channels or protein translocases. Protein translocation poses many fundamental biological questions, such as how channels selectively recognize their substrate proteins, how they translocate large polypeptides while maintaining the membrane barrier for small molecules and ions, and how they enable directional polypeptide movement. In addition to forward translocation, the channels and translocases also work together with protein quality control machineries to ensure proper targeting of proteins. However, the molecular mechanisms of these processes are poorly understood.
We aim to answer these important questions by a combination of structural, biochemical, and biophysical approaches. In particular, we are actively using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to elucidate high-resolution structures of these molecular machines in various functional states.
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Current Lab Members
Principal Investigator; Associate Professor
Eunyong received PhD from Harvard and postdoc training at Rockefeller University. He was awarded Vallee scholarship (2018), Pew Biomedical Scholarship (2020), and Amgen Young Investigator Award (2023).
Postdoc scholar
Yuanyuan received BS and MS in Biochemistry from Nanjing University, and PhD in Chemistry from Ohio State University training with Prof. Ross Dalbey. Yuanyuan joined the lab in Fall 2019.
Postdoc scholar
Kyungjin received her BS from UT Austin and PhD in Chemistry from Seoul National University. Kyungjin joined the lab in 2020 and received a Korean NRF followship.
Postdoc fellow
Kevin received BS/MS from National Taiwan Univ., and PhD in Biophysics from U. Michigan with Prof. Jim Bardwell. Kevin joined the lab in 2022 and awarded a Jane Coffin Childs fellowship
Ph.D. candidate
Laurie received her BS from Yale. After working at a pharmaceutical company for two years, she joined the MCB PhD Program in 2021. Laurie joined the lab in 2022 and received an NSF fellowship.
Ph.D. candidate
Nate received his AB in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard in 2020. Nate entered the MCB PhD program in 2022 as a Berkeley Fellow and joined the lab in 2023.
Ph.D. candidate
Sam received her BS in Cellular & Molecular Biochemistry from the UT El Paso in 2022. She entered the MCB PhD program in 2022 and joined the lab in 2023.
Ph.D. student
Amy received her BA in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley in 2022. She entered the PhD program in 2022 and joined the lab in Fall 2023.
Ph.D. student
Carson received his BS in Biochemistry from Kansas State University in 2023. He entered the Biophysics PhD program in 2023 and joined the lab in 2024.
Jessica Cope, undergraduate student, 2023-2024 (currently postbac at OHSU)
Aasha Turner, undergraduate student, 2023-2024 (currently postbac at Dana-Farber)
Jacob Spiegel, undergraduate student, 2024
Sue Sim, Ph.D. student, 2019-2023 (currently postdoc at UCSF)
Samuel Itskanov, Ph.D. student, 2018-2022 (currently postdoc at Gilead)
Phanisri Tummala, undergraduate student, 2021-2022 (currently medical school student)
Nicholas Sims, undergraduate student, 2022
Ivan Savchuk, undergraduate student, 2021
Kyle Tucker, graduate student, 2018-2020
Miaomiao Chen, undergraduate exchange student, 2018 (thereafter, Ph.D. at UVA)
Our lab started in 2018 in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biolgy (MCB) at UC Berkeley. We are a highly motived group of scientists from diverse backgrounds and love to engage with challenging problems in cell biology and make new discoveries. We use biochemical, structural (cryo-EM), and cell biology tools elucidate molecular mechanisms related to protein transport across organellar membranes and quality control.
Our laboratory is located in Stanley Hall of UC Berkeley, the home of QB3 Berkeley. Founded in 1868, UC Berkeley has been on the frontier of science and engineering research. It ranks as one of top public universities in the world. Stanley Hall serves as the Berkeley hub for multidisciplinary research and teaching involving the biological sciences, physical sciences, and engineering. Built in 2007, Stanley Hall houses 40 research laboratories for QB3 faculty affiliates and several support facilities including Berkeley Bay Area Cryo-EM facility (operating FEI Titan Krios and Talos Arctica microscopes)
We have open positions for postdoctoral scholars who are interested in biology of organelle biogenesis, protein targeting, and quality control. Prior training in protein biochemistry, cell biology, or biophysics is desirable. Projects will use yeast and/or mammalian cells as model systems and a combination of biochemical, cell biology (light microscopy), and, potentially, cryo-EM methods (no prior training in cryo-EM is required). Applicants are expected to have at least one peer-reviewed first-author paper to demonstrate their research proficiency. Interested applicants should submit CV and cover letter to eunyong_park(at) berkeley.edu .
We accept graduate students through the MCB and Biophysics programs. If you are a first-year MCB or Biophysics student and interested in rotation, please contact Professor Eunyong Park to set up a meeting.
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley