Biography

Dr. Qi Hu received his bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences and master’s degree in medicinal chemistry from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China. He then joined the School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University and received his doctoral degree in biology in 2014. In 2015, he joined Prof. Kevan Shokat’s lab in the University of California, San Francisco for postdoctoral training. Dr. Hu was awarded the prestigious Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2015. Since 2019, Dr. Hu has been a tenure-track assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University.

Research

The Hu lab is interested in using biological and chemical tools to study the molecular mechanisms of cell signaling, and developing chemical tools and drugs based on the understanding of the molecular mechanisms. The research in the Hu lab is currently focusing on the following directions:

1. Protein lipidation and lipid metabolism:

(1) To understand the structure, function and regulatory mechanism of enzymes involved in protein lipidation and lipid metabolism.

(2) To explore the effects of protein lipidation on protein localization and function.

(3) To design chemical tools to study protein lipidation and lipid metabolism.

(4) To develop selective regulators of disease-related protein lipidation enzymes.

2. Small molecule drug development:

(1) To develop small molecule inhibitors targeting essential enzymes of coronaviruses.

(2) To explore new strategies for anticancer drug development.

Representative  Publications

1.  Hu,  Q., Shokat, K. (2018). Disease-causing mutations in the G  protein Gαs subvert the roles of GDP and GTP. Cell 173, 1254–1264.

2.  Li, Y.#, Zhou, M.#, Hu,  Q.#,  Bai, X.-C., Huang, W., Scheres, S.H.W., and Shi, Y. (2017). Mechanistic insights  into caspase-9 activation by the structure of the apoptosome holoenzyme. Proc Natl Acad  Sci U S A 114, 1542–1547. (# co-first author)

3.  Zhou, M., Li, Y., Hu,  Q., Bai, X.-C., Huang, W., Yan, C., Scheres, S.H.W., and Shi, Y.  (2015). Atomic structure of the apoptosome: mechanism of cytochrome c- and  dATP-mediated activation of Apaf-1. Genes Dev 29, 2349–2361

4.  Wang, J., Yan, C., Li, Y., Hirata, K., Yamamoto, M., Yan, N.*, and Hu,  Q.* (2014). Crystal structure of a bacterial homologue of SWEET  transporters. Cell Res 24, 1486-1489. (*  co-corresponding author)

5.  Hu,  Q.#, Wu, D.#, Chen, W., Yan, Z., Yan, C., He, T., Liang, Q., and  Shi, Y. (2014). Molecular determinants of caspase-9 activation by the Apaf-1  apoptosome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111,  16254-16261. (# co-first author)

6.  Hu,  Q.#, Wu, D.#, Chen, W., Yan, Z., and Shi, Y. (2013). Proteolytic  processing of the caspase-9 zymogen is required for apoptosome-mediated  activation of caspase-9. J Biol Chem 288, 15142-15147. (#  co-first author)

7.  Wu, D.#, Hu,  Q..#,  Yan, Z.#, Chen, W., Yan, C., Huang, X., Zhang, J., Yang, P., Deng, H., and Wang,  J., et al. (2012). Structural basis of ultraviolet-B perception by UVR8. Nature 484, 214-219. (# co-first  author)

8.  Hu,  Q., Nie, A., Welsh, K., Pinacho, C.F., Zhu, X., Li, Z., An, J.,  Reed, J.C., Zhang, L., and Huang, Z. (2011). Novel X-linked inhibitor of  apoptosis protein inhibitors as probes of apoptosis in biology and medicine.  Exp  Biol Med (Maywood) 236, 247-251.

9.  Wang, F., Mei, Z., Qi, Y., Yan, C., Hu,  Q., Wang, J., and Shi, Y. (2011). Structure and mechanism of the  hexameric MecA-ClpC molecular machine. Nature 471, 331-335.

10.  Qi, S., Pang, Y., Hu,  Q.,  Liu, Q., Li, H., Zhou, Y., He, T., Liang, Q., Liu, Y., and Yuan, X., et al.  (2010). Crystal structure of the Caenorhabditis elegans apoptosome reveals an  octameric assembly of CED-4. Cell 141, 446-457.