Prof. Di Wu is from the Institute of Translational Medicine, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University. Prof. Wu received his bachelor and master degree in science at School of Life Science, Jilin University, and obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics under the supervision of Pro. Hartmut Michel, the 1988 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry. After his doctorate, he served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, as well as Technology Manager and Guest Scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP. Prof. Wu was rewarded the Max Planck Society Nobel Laureate Fellowship in 2022 and subsequently the Outstanding Junior Scientists of the Max Planck Society and Bayer Foundation-Lindau Fellowship in 2023. The research interest of Prof. Wu is molecular membrane biology and disease-related human membrane proteins. He’s also dedicated in the drug discovery and development targeting important membrane proteins. Prof. Wu has so far published several articles as first/corresponding author in esteemed international journals including Nature, Nature Chemical Biology, and PNAS.

Education

2022 Ph.D., Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Goethe University Frankfurt

2013 M.S., Cell Biology, School of Life Science, Jilin University

2009 B.S., Biological Science, School of Life Science, Jilin University

Positions

2025-present Professor, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University

2023-present Guest Scientist, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics

2023-present Guest Scientist, Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP

2023-2024 Technology Manager, Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP

2022-2024 Postdoctoral Fellow, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics

Awards/Honors

2024   National-level young talent

2023   Outstanding Junior Scientists of the Max Planck Society

2023   Bayer Foundation-Lindau Fellowship

2022   Nobel Laureate Fellowship of the Max Planck Society

Research Interest

Molecular Membrane Biology:

functional and structural characterization of disease-related membrane proteins and elucidation of their pathogenic mechanisms using biochemical, molecular biological, cell biological, and structural biological (cryo-EM) approaches.

Drug Discovery and Development:

discovery and development of novel molecules targeting membrane proteins, characterization and validation of inhibitory and regulatory small chemical compounds targeting membrane proteins, design and development of therapeutic molecules targeting membrane proteins

Selected publications:

1. Ri K, Weng T-H, Cabezudo AC, …, Hummer G*, Wu D*, Nguyen LN*, Safarian S*. Structural and mechanistic insights into human choline and ethanolamine transport. Nature. 2024 May 22:1-8.

2. Wu D, Mehdipour AR, Finke F, et al. Dissecting the conformational complexity and mechanism of a bacterial heme transporter. Nature Chemical Biology. 2023 Apr 24; 19, 992-1003.

3. Grund TN¹, Radloff M¹, Wu D¹, et al. Mechanistic and structural diversity between bd isoforms of Escherichia coli. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2021 Dec 14; 118(50).

4. Safarian S, Opel-Reading HK, Wu D, et al. The cryo-EM structure of the bd oxidase from M. tuberculosis reveals a unique structural framework and enables rational drug design to combat TB. Nature communications. 2021 Sep 2;12(1):1-10.

5. Wu D, Grund TN, Welsch S, et al. Structural basis for amino acid exchange by a human heteromeric amino acid transporter. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2020 Sep 1;117(35): 21281-21287.

6. Wu D, Wang C, Yang J, et al. Improving the Intracellular Drug Concentration in Lung Cancer Treatment through the Co-delivery of Doxorubicin and miR-519c Mediated by Porous PLGA Microparticle. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 2016, 13, 3925-3933.

7. Wu D, Yang J, Xing Z, et al. Phenylboronic acid-functionalized polyamidoamine-mediated Bcl-2 siRNA delivery for inhibiting the cell proliferation. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 2016, 146: 318-325.

8. Wu D, Han H, Xing Z, et al. Ideal and reality: barricade in the delivery of small interfering RNA for cancer therapy. Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 2016, 17(3), 237-247.