The Sai Lab

					
06/2024 - Present                                       
Tenured Associate Professor
School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, China

06/2021 - 06/2024                                       
Tenure-Track Associate Professor                                     
School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, China

08/2018 - 05/2021
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor
School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, China

Education and Professional Experience (Training)

					
Education 
01/2009 - 11/2012  Doctor of Philosophy, Biophysics
Georg-August-University of Göttingen | Göttingen, Germany

08/2006 - 11/2008  Master of Science, Physics
University of Stuttgart | Stuttgart, Germany

09/2002 - 07/2006  Bachelor of Science, Applied Physics
Wuhan University | Wuhan, Hubei, China

Professional Experience   
08/2018 - present  Principal Investigator
School of Life Sciences,
Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

04/2017 - 07/2018  Senior Research Associate
Oxford Particle Imaging Centre, Division of Structural Biology (STRUBI),
University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

01/2013 - 03/2017  Postdoctoral Research Assistant
Oxford Particle Imaging Centre, Division of Structural Biology (STRUBI),
University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

Scientific Talks

					
2025
International Symposium on Protein Sciences | Shenzhen, China
GRC 3DEM meeting | Newry, ME, USA
International Virus Assembly Farewell Symposium | Alghero, Italy
Symposium of National Facility for Protein Science in Beijing | Beijing, China
The 10th iHuman Forum | Shanghai, China
hLife Conference | Influenza: Challenges in the Post-COVID-19 Era | Beijing, China
The 9th National Symposium of Cryo-EM and Structural Biology | Harbin, China
National Symposium on Modern Biophysical Methods & Technologies and Single-Molecule Biology | Changchun, China


2024
20th Chinese-American Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposium | Beijing, China
2024 Kuo Symposium on cryo-EM | Shenzhen, China
21st IUPAB Congress 2024 | Kyoto, Japan
CellVis2 symposium | The Scripps Institute | La Jolla, USA
Frontiers in Structural Biology | Hangzhou, China
UCLA | Los Angeles, CA, USA | Seminar talk

2023
Cell Symposia: Structural biology from the nanoscale to cellular mesoscale | Huangshan, China
IAS Symposium on Biological cryo-EM | Hongkong, China
The 8th Chinese Protein Society Symposium | Hangzhou, China
The 8th National Symposium of Cryo-EM and Structural Biology | Chengdu, China
Fundación Ciencia & Vida | Santiago, Chile | Seminar talk
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile | Santiago, Chile | Seminar talk
SUSTech | Shenzhen, China | Seminar talk
Westlake University | Hangzhou, China | Seminar talk

2022
Tenth International Virus Assembly Symposium | Lisbon, Portugal | Plenary Talk
Pasteur Institute | Paris, France | Seminar talk
University of Oxford | Oxford, UK | Seminar talk

2021
3rd Conference on Biomotors, Virus Assembly, and Nanobiotechnology | Webinar
Computer simulations and Cryo-ET/EM of complex biomolecular systems | Webinar
GRC 3DEM meeting | Waterville Valley, NH, USA | Plenary Talk
"COVID-19: Advances and Remaining Challenges" International Conference | Pasteur Institute Paris, France
The 7th National Symposium of Cryo-EM and Structural Biology | Shenzhen, China
19th Chinese Biophysics Congress | Hefei, China
Princeton University | Princeton, NJ, USA | Seminar talk
Institute of Microbiology, CAS | Beijing, China | Seminar talk

2020
Nature Webinar | Webinar
2020 Academic Annual Conference on Electron Microscopy | Chengdu, China | Plenary Talk
18th Chinese Biophysics Congress | Guangzhou, China
Fudan University | Shanghai, China | Seminar talk
Shanghai Jiaotong University | Shanghai, China | Seminar talk
Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, CAS | Shenzhen, China | Seminar talk
Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, CAAS | Lanzhou, China | Seminar talk
Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, CAS | Guangzhou, China | Seminar talk
KAUST (webinar) | Saudi Arabia | Seminar talk

2019
The Sixth National Symposium of Structural Biology | Jixi, China
The 6th National Symposium of Cryo-EM and Structural Biology | Beijing, China

2018
Leiden-Tsinghua advanced Cryo-EM workshop | Leiden University and NeCEN | the Netherlands
Tsinghua-Leiden advanced Cryo-EM workshop | Beijing, China
Leiden University and NeCEN | the Netherlands | Seminar talk

2016
6th European Congress of Virology | Hamburg, Germany
Delft University of Technology | the Netherlands | Seminar talk

Organization of Conferences

					
2026 | Organizing Committee | 21st Chinese-American Frontiers of Science Symposium | Hawaii, US
2025 | Chair | 2025 Tsinghua Spring School on Cryo-ET with Dynamo | Beijing, China
2025 | Chair | Session Chair | National Symposium on Modern Biophysical Methods & Technologies and Single-Molecule Biology | Changchun, China
2024 | Session Chair | Tsinghua-ASM Symposium on Microbes in Human Health 2024 | Tsinghua University, China
2024 | Session Chair | 2024 Kuo Symposium on cryo-EM | Diamond Light Source, UK
2022 | Session Chair | NSFC Seminar on Structural Biology and proteomics based on the National Protein Science Facility | Webinar
2019 | Organizing Committee | Get Acquainted with Cryo-Electron Microscopy: Fifth Chinese Workshop for Structural Biologists | Beijing, China
2015 | Co-Chair | Subtomogram averaging with Dynamo | Diamond Light Source, UK

Teaching

					
2025-2026 Spring Semester | Electron microscopy and the bio-landscape it unfolded
2025-2026 Spring Semester | Introduction on structural biology
2025-2026 Spring Semester | Introduction on methods in molecular virology
2024-2025 Spring Semester | Structures and functions of biological macromolecules
2024-2025 Spring Semester | Introduction on methods in molecular virology
2024-2025 Spring Semester | Electron microscopy and the bio-landscape it unfolded
2023 - 2024 Spring Semester | Structures and functions of biological macromolecules
2023 - 2024 Spring Semester | Introduction on methods in molecular virology
2022 - 2023 Summer Semester | Basic interdisciplinary practical course
2022 - 2023 Spring Semester | Structures and functions of biological macromolecules
2022 - 2023 Spring Semester | Introduction on methods in molecular virology
2022 - 2023 Autumn Semester | Introduction on in situ structural biology
2021 - 2022 Spring Semester | Introduction on in situ structural biology
2021 - 2022 Spring Semester | Introduction on methods in molecular virology
2021 - 2022 Spring Semester | Seminars on genetic developmental biology
2021 - 2022 Spring Semester | Structures and functions of biological macromolecules
2020 - 2021 Spring Semester | Principles of Biology
2019 - 2020 Spring Semester | Current topics on molecular and cellular biology
2018 - 2019 Spring Semester | Principles of Biology

Invited Lectures and Tutoring at Workshops

					
2023 | The 3rd in situ structural biology symposium | Beijing, China
2021 | Get Acquainted with Cryo-EM: Sixth Chinese Workshop for Structural Biologists | Beijing, China
2020 | Zhangjiang cryo-EM Workshop 2020 Winter | Shanghai, China
2019 | Get Acquainted with Cryo-EM: Fifth Chinese Workshop for Structural Biologists | Beijing, China
2019 | Songshan Lake 2019 Spring school: structure and dynamics of proteins | Dongguan, China
2017 | International Workshop of Advanced Image Processing of Cryo-EM | Beijing, China
2015 | Subtomogram averaging with Dynamo, CCPEM | Diamond Light Source, UK
2015 | The 2015 Dynamo Workshop | Basel, Switzerland

Reviewing Activities for Journals

					
Ad Hoc Reviewers for:

Nature (× 5)	Cell Reports Methods
Chemical Reviews	Protein & Cell
Nature Communications (× 5)	Journal of Structural Biology
Structure	Journal of Virology
Current Opinions in Structural Biology	Biomolecules
Viruses	Biophysics Reports
Experimental Technology and Management	Journal of Chinese Electron Microscopy Society

Reviewing Activities for Funding Agencies and Institutions

2019-2026	Committee member of faculty recruitment interviews for Westlake University, Sichuan University and Institute of Biophysics (CAS)
2024	Reviewed a grant application for the Institute of Chemistry (CAS)
2024	Tenure evaluation for promotion to professor at Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
2024-2026	Reviewed a grant application for the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong
2023	Reviewed applications for the Top-notch Personnel program for the Ministry of Education, PRC
2023-2024	Reviewed applications for the Changjiang Young Scholar program for the Ministry of Education, PRC
2022	Reviewed a grant application for the European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant
2018 - 2025	Reviewed the planning, progress and acceptance of the cryo-EM facilities for Westlake University, Wuhan University, Institute of Biophysics (CAS), Beijing Huairou National Comprehensive Science Center, and Institute of Advanced Science Facilities Shenzhen
2021	Reviewed facility construction proposal for building a crystallography facility and cryo-EM facility under BSL-3 for the Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of Advanced Science Facilities, Shenzhen
2021	Reviewed grant applications for the “Bio-Brain+X” Advanced Imaging Instruments Seed Funds of the IDG/McGovern Institute

Committee and University Services

Periods	Committee Service
2020 - present	Advisory Committee of the Bio-computing Platform, University Core Facility
2020 - present	Advisory Committee of the Cryo-EM and Cell Biology Platform, University Core Facility
2018 - present	Graduate Recruitment Interviews
2018 - present	Graduate Evaluation and Examination
2020 - present	Doctoral Thesis Mentorship Committee
2019 - present	Undergraduate Recruitment Interviews
2021 - present	Undergraduate Mentorship
2018 - present	Faculty Recruitment Interviews
2018 - present	Postdoctoral Fellowship Interviews
2018 - present	Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure
2023 - present	State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology