TAO Changlu

TAO Changlu

PhD, Associate Investigator

Research Directions: (1) Ultrastructure and molecular mechanisms of synaptic transmission and plasticity; (2) Multi-model nano-imaging techniques; (3) In situ structures of macromolecules by cryo-ET and sub-tomogram analysis.

Office Phone: 
*
Email: 
cl.tao@siat.ac.cn

Research

The high dynamic and plasticity of neuronal synapses, and the molecular and functional diversity across these synapses give rise to our brain’s remarkable computational power and cognitive capacity. The advanced nano-imaging techniques, such as super-resolution optical imaging and cryo-electron tomography (cryoET), can visualize the ultra-structural organization at molecular resolution. Integrating these techniques are promising for dissecting the structural basis of synaptic function inside individual synapse within functioning neural circuits. Our team focuses on developing & integrating microscopy imaging techniques for understanding the mechanisms of synaptic transmission and plasticity.

Biography

2020–  Associate Investigator, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology

2017-2020  Postdoc Fellow, Hefei National Laboratory of Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China.

2010-2017  PhD, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China.

2006-2010  B.S., School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University.

Selected publications

  1. Liu YT#, Tao CL#, Zhang X#, Xia W, Shi DQ, Qi L, Xu C, Sun R, Li XW, Lau PM*, Zhou ZH* & Bi GQ*. Mesophasic organization of GABAA receptors in hippocampal inhibitory synapse. Nature Neuroscience 23, 1589–1596 (2020). (#co-1st author)
  2. Tao CL#, Liu YT#, Sun R, Zhang B, Qi L, Shivakoti S, Tian CL, Zhang P, Lau PM*, Zhou ZH*, Bi GQ*. Differentiation and characterization of excitatory and inhibitory synapses by cryo-electron tomography and correlative microscopy. Journal of Neuroscience. 2018 Feb 7;38(6):1493-1510. (Cover story, #co-1st author)
  3. Liu YT#, Tao CL#, Lau PM, Zhou ZH, Bi GQ*. Postsynaptic protein organization revealed by electron microscopy. Current Opinions in Structural Biology. 2019 54:152-160) (#co-1st author)
  4. Tao CL#, Liu YT#, Lau PM, Zhou ZH, Bi GQ*. Accumulation of dense core vesicles in hippocampal synapses following chronic inactivity. Frontier in Neuroanatomy, 2018 Jun (11). (#co-1st author)
  5. Sun R#, Liu YT#, Tao CL#*, Qi L, Lau PM, Zhou ZH, Bi GQ. An efficient protocol of cryo-correlative light and electron microscopy and its application for the study of neuronal synapses. Biophysics Reports, (2019) 5: 111 (Cover story, #co-1st author, *corresponding author)
  6. Tao C#, Xia C#, Chen X, Zhou ZH, Bi G*. Ultrastructural analysis of neuronal synapses using state-of-the-art nano-imaging techniques. Neuroscience Bulletin. 2012 Aug; 28(4):321-32. (*co-1st author)
  7. 毕国强，周正洪，何继中，陶长路，徐程，刘云涛. 用于冷冻光电关联显微成像的方法和装置.  发明专利, 专利号: 201410490390.5
  8. 陶长路，张兴，韩华，梁文锡，赵经纬，毕国强. 前沿生物医学电子显微技术的发展态势与战略分析。中国科学: 生命科学, 2020, 50: 1–16