Steven Tang (he/him/his) joins the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University as an Assistant Professor in January 2024. Steven’s research program focuses on the cell-surface proteome and the molecular machines for membrane fusion in human development and infectious disease. His research combines biochemistry, structural biology, protein engineering, cell biology, and immunology.
Steven received his B.S. in Pharmacy at Peking University, Beijing, China, before moving to the U.S.. Steven completed his Ph.D in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology with Prof. Scott Emr in the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology and the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University. Steven’s Ph.D dissertation uncovered the molecular mechanisms underlying the activation, assembly, and membrane remodeling of the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT-III) complex in multivesicular endosome biogenesis. Steven was awarded the Harry and Samuel Mann Outstanding Graduate Student Award.
Steven did his postdoctoral work as a Merck Fellow of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation with Prof. Peter Kim at Sarafan ChEM-H and in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University. Steven pioneered strategies for small molecules targeting “undruggable” protein-protein interactions in cancer immunotherapy, and collaboratively, developed a safe, effective, low-cost, and room-temperature stable SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle vaccine. Supported by an NIH K99/R00 award, Steven’s research has focused on receptor-mediated cell-surface recognition and cell-cell fusion in mammalian fertilization.