Yu Chen

Dr. Yu (Seby) Chen is a structural biologist with a keen interest in understanding the molecular mechanism underlying human diseases for the development of novel therapeutics. He earned his PhD in Biochemistry from McGill University, where he focused on studying CNNM, an enigmatic class of magnesium transporters implicated in cancer and metal uptake diseases. His research utilized X-ray crystallography and various biophysical techniques to study the structure and function of these proteins, which provided insights into the uptake of metal ions and how protein malfunctions lead to genetic diseases.

Currently, he is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Van Petegem lab at the Life Sciences Institute of the University of British Columbia. His ongoing project involves using cryo-electron microscopy and electrophysiology to study ion channels associated with neuromuscular diseases. The project aims to understand how disease mutations, endogenous modulators, and pharmacological agents affect the structure and function of calcium channels in skeletal muscles. These findings will help us better understand the cause of neuromuscular diseases for the design of novel therapeutics.