Yang Sun

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• 13
• Career breaks 07.2020-02.2021 Due to the coronavirus (waiting for working permit, international flight and vaccine), there is an 8-month-break during the research’s career
• Major scientific achievements 1
• Molecular Origin of Mechanics of Biomacromolecules
• I revealed the surprisingly low mechanical stability of the Au-S bond in the gold-specific protein GolB by AFM Force Spectroscopy, and highlighted the dramatic influence of the unique biological environment on the stability and strength of metal coordination bonds in proteins
• (Published in JACS, co-first author) Based on this work I won the Young Scientist Travel Award for the 19th International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB) and 11th European Biophysical Societies' Association (EBSA) Congress, Edinburgh
• I discovered that 3WJ-pRNA complex exhibits notable mechanical anisotropy which depends on pulling direction and the presence of Mg2+
• I explained the molecular origin of the mechanical anisotropy of 3WJ-pRNA structure, and provided many new insights for the design of anisotropic biomaterials which can be reversibly regulated by ion binding
• (Published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition and Science Advances as first/co-first author.) Based on this work, I earned the Excellent Achievement Award, awarded by Chinese National Laboratory of Solid-state Microstructure
• These results highlighted the importance of intra/intermolecular interactions on mechanics of biomacromolecules, and provided fundamental theory support for modulating mechanics of biomacromolecules
• 2
• Bottom-up Rational Design of Biomimetic Materials
• I first directly measured mechanics of individual fibrils in peptide hydrogels by AFM imaging and statistical analysis, and found that intermolecular interactions play a considerable role in it
• (Published in Nanoscale, co-first author) I proved three different interactions: a strong pyridyl–iron one, and two weaker carboxamido–iron ones through both the nitrogen and oxygen atoms of the carboxamide groups existed in the crosslinking poly(dimethylsiloxane) complexes and contributed to its ultra-stretchable and autonomous self-healing property by AFM-based force spectroscopy in cooperation with Prof
• Zhenan Bao of Stanford University
• (Published in Nature chemistry, sixth author) These results illustrated the relationship of material mechanical properties between single-molecular/single fibril level and macroscopic level, which can be quite useful for material scientists in designing materials with tailored mechanics in a rational way
• Besides, the collaboration and publication with the leading scientist in this field had a great impact on my scientific development
• 3
• Effects of Mechanics of Hydrogel Substrate on Cell Function and Behaviors
• The maintenance of terminally differentiated cells especially hepatocytes in vitro has proven challenging
• Terminally differentiated cells are functionally stable in vivo, a state that is highly dependent on precise spatiotemporal regulation by microenvironmental signals
• Hence, I developed a hydrogel which mimics porous structural and mechanical properties of liver to regulate sophisticated signaling regulatory network and successfully maintain primary hepatocytes in vitro for a long time (14 Days)
• It also provided prospect for liver tissue engineering and artificial liver transplantation
• (Under manuscript) This research led me towards my goal of creating and controlling structural and mechanical properties of hydrogel-based biomaterials and onwards to new understanding of the role of its effect on cell function and behaviors and the applications of my materials in clinical therapeutics
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