Faculty Spotlight

September 2015 saw the arrival of Erhu Cao as a new Assistant Professor of Biochemistry. In his postdoctoral fellowship with David Julius at UCSF, Erhu characterized TRP ion channels, which are key players in sensory signaling. This included collaborating with the laboratory of Yifan Cheng to determine structures at near atomic resolution. This landmark achievement heralded the cryo-EM transformation that is currently sweeping structural biology. Prior to that, Erhu received his bachelors degree from the Huazhong Agricultural University in China, followed by his Ph.D. studies at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the labs of Steven Almo and Stanley Nathenson, where he determined crystal structures of receptors that contribute to cellular immunity, and received the Julius Marmur Research Award.

Erhus new lab at Utah is broadly interested in understanding atomic-scale mechanisms of how membrane proteins function under normal and diseased states. Membrane proteins play critical roles in nearly every aspect of physiological processes that encompass relaying signals between cells, transporting small molecules and ions across the membrane and catalyzing vital enzymatic reactions. Importantly, membrane proteins constitute ~60% of targets of currently approved drugs and thus in-depth knowledge about their inner workings is sorely needed to inform the development of effective therapeutic strategies for treating various human diseases.

Erhus current research program focuses on the structure and function of receptors, transporters, and ion channels that are implicated in polycystic kidney diseases (PKD), which is a widespread genetic disorder that affects 600,000 Americans and 12.5 million patients worldwide. He also aims to develop pharmacological tools (e.g. small chemical compounds, peptide toxins, and antibodies) to probe the function of ion channels and receptors. Importantly, such molecules may also serve as lead compounds that can potentially evolve into drugs for treating patients with PKD. To achieve these goals, Erhus lab employs a multidisciplinary approach that includes molecular biology, protein biochemistry, pharmacology, ion channel electrophysiological, X-ray crystallography, and single particle electron cryo-microscopy.

Erhu Cao Website

Original post:
Biochemistry - University of Utah