CIMR-Lijia Jia

Core Director

Research Group

Lijia Jia

jial(at)cimrbj.ac.cn

Director of Cryo-Electron Microscopy Core

jial(at)cimrbj.ac.cn

B.S. in Genetics, Hebei Agricultural University

M.S. in Quantitative Genetics, China Agricultural University

Ph.D. in Structure Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Work Experience

2025.02–Present

Director, Cryo-Electron Microscopy Core, CIMR, Beijing, China

2022.01–2025.01

Assistant Professor/Research Faculty, Technical Director of Cryo-EM Facility, UT Health San Antonio (UTHSCSA)

2021.01–2021.12

Postdoctoral Fellow, UT Health San Antonio (UTHSCSA)

2019.09–2020.12

Postdoctoral Fellow, Florida State University

2017.07–2019.09

Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Introduction

Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) Core, a cornerstone of CIMR's technical infrastructure, provides professional imaging services ranging from high-resolution reconstruction of macromolecular complexes and subcellular ultrastructure to precision immunogold localization and in situ structural biology. By offering a comprehensive workflow—including biochemical quality assessment, negative-stain optimization, vitrification, and automated high-throughput data acquisition—the platform delivers tailored experimental strategies that significantly enhance the stability and efficiency of 3D structural determination. Utilizing advanced vitrification and high-resolution imaging to elucidate protein mechanisms and molecular regulatory networks, the facility provides indispensable structural evidence for targeted drug design, vaccine development, and precision medicine while actively collaborating with users to pioneer novel analytical methodologies.

Representative Publications *：Co-first author; #：Co-corresponding author

Nayak D, Jia L, Bury PDS, Ruben EA, Shukla A, Nayak A, Stratton CM, Ebadi P, Cho H, Tumanova AA, Varughese JT, Yuan L, Gao F, Cano KE, Davies C, Sung P, Gack MU, Wasmuth EV, Olsen SK. Cryo-EM structures of UBA6 reveal mechanisms of E1–E2 specificity and dual FAT10/ubiquitin thioester transfer. Nat Commun, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-69882-3

Nayak A*, Nayak D*, Jia L*, Ruben EA, Viswanadhapalli S, Dos Santos Bury P, Nassar KM, Yu CH, Tumanova AA, Stratton CM, Ebadi P, Ivanov DN, Sung P, Vadlamudi RK, Wasmuth EV, Olsen SK. Cryo-EM structures reveal the molecular mechanism of SUMO E1-E2 thioester transfer. Nat Struct Mol Biol, 2025, 32: 2441-2453. DOI: 10.1038/s41594-025-01681-8

Jia L, Ruben EA, Suarez HJ, Olsen SK, Wasmuth EV. Single particle cryo-electron microscopy with an enhanced 200 kV cryo-TEM configuration achieves near-atomic resolution. bioRxiv, 2024. DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.07.593029

Afsar M, Liu G, Jia L, Ruben EA, Nayak D, Sayyad Z, Bury PDS, Cano KE, Nayak A, Zhao X, Shukla A, Sung P, Wasmuth EV, Gack MU, Olsen SK. Cryo-EM structures of Uba7 reveal the molecular basis for ISG15 activation and E1-E2 thioester transfer. Nat Commun, 2023, 14: 4786. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39780-z

Rawal Y*, Jia L*, Meir A*, Zhou S, Kaur H, Ruben EA, Kwon Y, Bernstein KA, Jasin M, Taylor AB, Burma S, Hromas R, Mazin AV, Zhao W, Zhou D, Wasmuth EV, Greene EC, Sung P, Olsen SK. Structural insights into BCDX2 complex function in homologous recombination. Nature, 2023, 619: 640-649. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06219-w

Jia L, Rawal Y, Meir A, Wasmuth EV, Greene EC, Sung P, Olsen SK. Structural and functional insights into the role of human BCDX2 complex in RAD51-dependent homologous recombination by cryoEM. J Biol Chem, 2023, 299: S642. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104187

Yuan L, Gao F, Lv Z, Nayak D, Nayak A, Bury PDS, Cano KE, Jia L, Atligan FC, Oleinik N, Ogretmen B, El Oualid F, Wasmuth EV, Olsen SK. Crystal structures reveal catalytic and regulatory mechanisms of the dual-specificity ubiquitin/FAT10 E1 enzyme Uba6. Nat Commun, 2022, 13: 4880. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32613-5

Lv Z, Cano KE, Jia L, Drag M, Huang TT, Olsen SK. Targeting SARS-CoV-2 proteases for COVID-19 antiviral development. Front Chem, 2022, 9: 819165. DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.819165

Full List of Publications Can Be Found Here

Book Chapters

Jia L. Running a Cost-Effective Modern Cryo-EM Facility for SPA analysis. In: CRYO-ELECTRON MICROSCOPY IN STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY. Taylor & Francis Publishing Group of CRC Press, 2024. eBook ISBN: 9781003326106.

Cryo-EM Structure Deposition List

Cryo-EM structures of SUMO E1-E2 thioester transfer complexes. EMD-47110, EMD-47127 Jia L, Nayak D, Ruben EA, Nayak A, Wasmuth EV, Olsen SK

Cryo-EM structures of the human BCDX2 and BCDX2/ssDNA complexes. EMD-28961, EMD-29917 Jia L, Wasmuth EV, Ruben EA, Sung P, Rawal Y, Greene EC, Meir A, Olsen SK

Cryo-EM structures of human UBA7-UBE2L6-ISG15 thioester mimetic and adenylate complexes. EMD-40799, EMD-40407, EMD-40408, EMD-40409, EMD-40782 Afsar M, Jia L, Ruben EA, Olsen SK

Cryo-EM structures of human BCDX2 complex (Glacios/Selectris optimization series). EMD-44757, EMD-44758, EMD-44759 Jia L, Ruben EA, Olsen SK, Wasmuth EV

Cryo-EM structure of Human Nucleosome collected by EPU on Glacios at 3.3 Angstrom resolution. EMD-44470 Jia L, Ruben EA, Olsen SK, Wasmuth EV

Cryo-EM structure of Aldolase collected by EPU on Glacios at 2.6 Angstrom resolution. EMD-41669 Jia L, Ruben EA, Olsen SK, Wasmuth EV

Cryo-EM structure of Apoferritin collected by Leginon on Glacios at 2.1 Angstrom resolution. EMD-41622 Jia L, Ruben EA, Olsen SK, Wasmuth EV