Gong Rui is currently an Assistant Professor at theFacultyof Life and HealthSciences, Shenzhen Institute of Technology.He received his Ph.D. in Structural Biophysics from Fudan University in 2013.He alsoconducted researchasa visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego. He later completedpostdoctoraltrainingin theStructural Biophysics andMechanobiologyLaboratoryat The Rockefeller University.His researchprimarilyfocuses on the molecular mechanismsunderlyingactin cytoskeleton-mediatedcellular force sensing and mechanotransduction.

Life is physical in nature and governed by the laws of physics. Inadditionto biochemical cues, the mechanical properties of the cells and their environment play a fundamental rolein guiding cell behavior.Cellscansense and transduce external mechanical inputs into biochemical signals, regulating key cellularprocesses such as cell proliferation, adhesion, migration and fatedetermination.The actin cytoskeleton network serves as a central hub for mechanical signaling, integrating external mechanical forces and translating them into biochemical signals through mechanotransduction to regulate gene expression. The Gong labemploys cryo-electron microscopy along with biochemical and biophysical approaches to investigate: 1) the assemblyprinciplesof the actin cytoskeleton network and its dynamic remodeling in response to mechanical forces; 2) themechanisms by which the actin cytoskeleton mediates the conversion ofmechanicalsignals into biochemical signals. Our long-term goal is to elucidatethefundamental mechanisms by which actin cytoskeleton links external mechanical signals to gene expression duringdevelopment andto understandhow their dysregulation contributes to disease.

Education

2011-2013，University of California, San Diego, visiting graduate

2007-2013，Fudan University，Ph.D.

2003-2007，Southwest University，B.S.

Research Experience

2025-present, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, SUAT

2017-2024，Postdoc, The Rockefeller University

2013-2016，Research Assistant Professor,Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry

Selected publications

1.Gong, R.^*, Reynolds, M.J., Sun, X., and Alushin, G.M.^*(2025). Afadin mediates cadherin-catenin complex clustering on F-actin linked to cooperative binding and filament curvature. Sci Adv11, eadu0989.

2.Gong, R.^#*, Reynolds, M.J.^#, Carney, K.R., Hamilton, K., Bidone, T.C., and Alushin, G.M.^*(2025). Fascin structural plasticity mediates flexible actin bundle construction.Nat Struct Mol Biol.

3.Gong, R., Jiang, F., Moreland, Z.G., Reynolds, M.J., de Los Reyes, S.E., Gurel, P., Shams, A., Heidings, J.B., Bowl, M.R., Bird, J.E., et al. (2022). Structural basis for tunable control of actin dynamics by myosin-15 in mechanosensory stereocilia.Sci Adv8, eabl4733.

4.Gong, R., Hong, A.W., Plouffe, S.W., Zhao, B., Liu, G., Yu, F.-X., Xu, Y., and Guan, K.-L. (2015). Opposing roles of conventional and novel PKC isoforms in Hippo-YAP pathway regulation.Cell Res25, 985–988.

5.Gong, R.^#, Li, L.^#, Liu, Y.^#, Wang, P., Yang, H., Wang, L., Cheng, J., Guan, K.-L., and Xu, Y. (2011). Crystal structure of the Gtr1p-Gtr2p complex reveals new insights into the amino acid-induced TORC1 activation. Genes Dev25, 1668–1673.

6.Gong, R., and Yu, F.-X. (2015). Targeting the Hippo Pathway for Anti-cancer Therapies. Curr Med Chem22, 4104–4117.

7.Yang, H.^#, Gong, R.^#, and Xu, Y. (2013). Control of cell growth: Rag GTPases in activation of TORC1. Cell Mol Life Sci70, 2873–2885.

8.Reynolds, M.J., Hachicho, C., Carl, A.G., Gong, R., and Alushin, G.M. (2022). Bending forces and nucleotide state jointly regulate F-actin structure. Nature611, 380–386.

9.Ruijgrok, P.V., Ghosh, R.P., Zemsky, S., Nakamura, M., Gong, R., Ning, L., Chen, R., Vachharajani, V.T., Chu, A.E., Anand, N., et al. (2021). Optical control of fast and processive engineered myosins in vitro and in living cells. Nat Chem Biol17, 540–548.

10.Sun, X., Phua, D.Y.Z., Axiotakis, L., Smith, M.A., Blankman, E., Gong, R., Cail, R.C., Espinosa de Los Reyes, S., Beckerle, M.C., Waterman, C.M., et al. (2020). Mechanosensing through Direct Binding of Tensed F-Actin by LIM Domains. Dev Cell55, 468-482.e7.

*correspondence; # equal contribution