Dr. Yang Fu is a Tenured Associate Professor and Principal Investigator in the Department of Biochemistry at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) School of Medicine, as well as a doctoral supervisor. He is a recipient of the National Young Talent Program and the Shenzhen Peacock Talent Award. Currently, he serves as the Deputy Director of the SUSTech Biosafety Platform and is a member of the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission's Expert Committee on New Drugs and Vaccines.
Dr. Fu received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Nankai University in 2013, and participated in a joint Ph.D. training program in Microbiology at Harvard Medical School from 2008 to 2013. He studied under world-renowned microbiologist and U.S. National Academy of Sciences member, Professor John Mekalanos.
Since establishing his independent research group at SUSTech in 2019, Dr. Fu’s team has focused on bacterial macromolecular transmembrane delivery systems, investigating their activation mechanisms, dynamic actions, effector protein mechanisms, functional analysis of genetic elements, and prokaryotic-eukaryotic interactions. The team conducts in-depth theoretical research while also bridging findings to applied translational directions. In response to national and municipal calls, the group also leverages its expertise in pathogenic microbiology to conduct emergency research on emerging infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2 and monkeypox.
The research is distinctly characterized by studies on two typical “injectable secretion systems” in Gram-negative bacteria: the Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) and the extracellular contractile injection system (eCIS). Research directions include: 1) precise antibacterial mechanisms and strategies, 2) targeted protein delivery at the cellular level, and 3) synthetic biology applications. To date, Dr. Fu’s team has published 39 research papers (31 from SUSTech), including 21 high-impact papers as corresponding or first author in journals such as Cell Host & Microbe (3 papers), Molecular Cell, PNAS, Gut Microbes, Advanced Functional Materials, Journal of Biological Chemistry (2 papers), Microbiological Research (2 papers), and mLife. His publications have been cited over 5,700 times. The team has applied for 7 technical invention patents, one of which has already achieved industrial translation valued at RMB 3 million.
The group has led more than 20 research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General and Youth Programs), the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Guangdong Province Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (Key Fundamental Research Projects, Peacock Team Project, Emergency COVID-19 Research Key Program), and the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART), among others. The team maintains ample research funding.
1、2001.09-2005.06 Bachelor ,Jiangnan University
2、2006.09-2013.06 Doctor , Nankai University
3、2009.09-2013.05 Joint Doctor of Education ,Harvard University
1、2005.07-2006.08 Technician, Nankai University
2、2008.06-2009.01 Visiting Scholar , School of Public Health，Harvard University
3、2013.07-2018.06 Postdoctoral researcher , School of Medicine，Harvard University
4、2018.07-2019.06 Assistant researcher, School of Medicine，Harvard University
5、2019.06-2020.12，Assistant professor / PhD Tutor, Southern University of Science and Technology
6、2020.12-present，Associate professor / PhD Tutor, Southern University of Science and Technology
1、National talent titles
2、Shenzhen's talent titles
3、Fogarty Global Health Fellowship
magazine editor of Bio-Protocol
