Xiaochun Li
Solves cryo-EM structures of cholesterol-sensing membrane proteins, including the new mTORC1 regulator TM6SF1
Eugene McDermott Distinguished Chair in Molecular Genetics, UT Southwestern · PhD, Tsinghua University · postdoc with Günter Blobel, Rockefeller University
Li (Xiaochun) Lab, UT Southwestern (Dallas, Texas, USA) ↗ ORCID0000-0002-0177-0803 ↗
Portrait: Xiaochun Li
Xiaochun Li earned his PhD in structural biology at Tsinghua University in 2012, then trained as a postdoctoral fellow with Nobel laureate Günter Blobel at Rockefeller University. In 2017 he joined the Department of Molecular Genetics at UT Southwestern, working alongside Nobel laureates Joseph Goldstein and Michael Brown.
His lab uses cryo-electron microscopy and protein engineering to study membrane proteins with Sterol-Sensing Domains — including Niemann-Pick C1, HMG-CoA reductase, and the Hedgehog receptors Patched and Dispatched — that govern how cells sense and traffic cholesterol.
He holds the Eugene McDermott Distinguished Chair in Molecular Genetics and has received the Damon Runyon–Rachleff Innovation Award and the American Heart Association Established Investigator Award.
Milestones in the Atlas
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | M | Structure and function of TM6SF1 reveals role in mTORC1 signaling HON2026 Senior-authored the cryo-EM structure of TM6SF1, identifying it as a lysosomal cholesterol-binding regulator of mTORC1 signaling via LAMTOR1. |
Co-authors in the Atlas
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Xiaochun Li.
- Sen Hong First-authored the cryo-EM structure identifying TM6SF1 as a lysosomal cholesterol-binding protein involved in regulating mTORC1 signalling