An interview with Mingjie Zhang: phase separation in biological systems

Abstract

Abstract Mingjie Zhang is a distinguished structural biologist whose research interest is the protein assemblies in cells, particularly those at the synapse, where two neurons meet and transmit nervous impulses from one to the other. In recent years, his group discovered the phenomenon of phase separation in both the pre- and post-synaptic sites of neurons and elucidated its regulation and physiological function. In this interview, NSR Executive Editor-in-Chief Mu-ming Poo talks with Prof. Zhang on the fast-developing research area of biological phase separation, as well as Zhang's new role as the Founding Dean of the School of Life Sciences at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen.