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Wade Zeno @zenoresearch.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

New preprint from our lab! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Using reconstituted lipid bilayers and truncation mutants, we show that α-synuclein remodels membranes through electrostatic repulsion from its anionic C-terminal region, augmented by its N-terminal region via asymmetric bilayer insertion.

biorxiv.org

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Wade Zeno @zenoresearch.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

New preprint from my lab! Clathrin doesn’t bind membranes directly, yet it can still drive membrane bending and fission by transmitting its mechanical properties through adaptor proteins. Our collaborators: @samuelfoley.com @mejohnson81.bsky.social BioRxiv link: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Wade Zeno

Black In Biophysics @blackinbiophys.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Today is the last day of #BPS2026! We loved celebrating the accomplishments of our community. Starting with our inaugural #BIBPS Travel Awardees, Emmanuel Osei and Skylar Grimsley, to the outstanding science shared at the #BlackInBiophysics Symposium. Congratulations to all! 👏🏾

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Wade Zeno @zenoresearch.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

New paper from my group! We show that membrane surface hydrophobicity, driven by lipid packing defects, can be just as important, and possibly even more important, than surface charge in governing alpha-synuclein binding. Here is the open-access link: www.nature.com/articles/s42...

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Reposted by Wade Zeno

Markus Deserno @markusdeserno.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Folks, this is Biophysics Week! To honor the occasion, the Membrane Structure and Function Subgroup is organizing a webinar tomorrow, Tuesday March 25, at 11am EDT. If you're not yet registered, do so now! Will be fun! 🧪 Registration link is here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

The Biophysics Week webinar of the Membrane Structure and Function Subgroup is happening tomorrow, Tuesday 3/25!

We’ll have the following 4 speaker:

Ilya Levental – University of Virginia
All models are wrong, but which ones are useful? The wild, wacky, wayward ways of asymmetric membranes

Wade Zeno – University of Southern California
Shaping and sensing membranes through protein-lipid interactions

Markus Deserno – Carnegie Mellon
There are many ways for how to think about lipid membranes

Padmini Rangamani – University of California San Diego
Using continuum membrane mechanics to understand experimental observations from GUVs to axons

Here’s the registration link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/wtIIyu-6TnOZOLNGlKWISg#/registration

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Reposted by Wade Zeno

Levental Lab @leventallab.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Some very clever and interesting membrane biophysicists (and also me) are doing a little webinar on... well, membrane biophysics of today and tomorrow. Check it out if you have time!

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Reposted by Wade Zeno

Black In Biophysics @blackinbiophys.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

As #BlackHistoryMonth comes to a close, we reflect upon the remarkable achievements of Black biophysicists. We congratulate outstanding the “Black In Biophysics” seminar co-chairs and speakers at #BPS2025. We are committed to promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in #STEM fields ✊🏾 🧵 1/2

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Reposted by Wade Zeno

Black In Biophysics @blackinbiophys.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

The #BlackInBiophysics Symposium at #BPS2025 highlighted #BlackExcellence in broad areas of biophysics research. We congratulate Drs. Alaji Bah, Breann Brown, Oleta Johnson, and Wade Zeno for their outstanding work. You inspire us! #RepresentationMatters @biophysicalsoc.bsky.social

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Wade Zeno @zenoresearch.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

It's known that anionic lipid charge enhances alpha-synuclein's ability to bind membranes. But did you know that alpha-synuclein can preferentially bind to neutral membranes when they are full of packing defects? Read about it in our latest preprint!

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