Luke Chao Laboratory

Compartmentalization is a hallmark of cellular life. The Chao lab is interested in how macromolecular assemblies propagate and maintain cellular ultrastructure. We seek to describe how protein assemblies integrate cues to trigger different cellular outcomes, such as during the biogenesis and homeostasis of organelles. We use an array of biochemical and biophysical reconstitution approaches to describe the activity of these assemblies and visualization approaches to describe their structures with molecular detail in native contexts. The long term goal of the lab is to reconstitute complex disease phenotype from molecular rules and reveal new strategies for therapeutic intervention.

About Luke Chao

Luke received his B.S./M.S. in Biochemistry from Brandeis University. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley where his thesis work with John Kuriyan focused on structural studies of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. As a postdoctoral fellow, he worked in the laboratory of Stephen C. Harrison at Harvard Medical School investigating the mechanisms of flavivirus (a family that includes West Nile, Dengue and Zika viruses) membrane fusion using single particle kinetic and electron microscopy approaches.

Positions available

Interested graduate students encouraged to contact Luke directly.