Yizhi Jane Tao

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Cell Biology
Dr. Tao's website
Tao Laboratory 

Dr. Jane Tao is a member of Rice’s Biochemistry & Cell Biology department. Her current research is focused on viral genomes, such as those behind the influenza and the avian flu viruses. “Influenza is a major concern to public health with frequent threat for widespread epidemics,” she states, adding “in particular, there are grave concerns that the avian H5N1 influenza virus, which has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa, may gain the ability to be transmitted between humans, resulting in a worldwide pandemic. It is critical that we obtain a comprehensive understanding of the basic molecular biology of influenza viruses. We tackle these problems with biochemical methods, electron microscopy, and X-ray crystallography. Results from our studies are likely to uncover better therapeutics for influenza virus infection and potential new methods for antiviral drug design.”

Dr. Tao collaborates with many other scientists when conducting her research, including Dr. Robert Krug, virologist at the University of Texas-Austin, and Dr. Vik Vakharia at the University of Maryland, who uses the reverse genetics method to study protein function. She also collaborates with Dr. Jinqiang Zhang at Zhongshan University in China to study the structure of hepatitis E virus.

“I am often amazed at the many tricks that viruses use to maximize their genetic coding efficiency and to enhance the functionality of their gene products. I find it very satisfying to discover these tricks and to understand their molecular basis. Her Ph.D. thesis led to publications in Cell and in Nature and earned her the Umbarger Award from her department. She remembers, “My thesis was about the structure and assembly of bacteriophages. I described how bateriophages, these little creatures with head, neck, tail, legs, whiskers, look at nanometer or subnanometer resolution, and how they are assembled from individual protein molecules. I used a combination of X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy to study these viruses. My research garnered attention for its innovative ideas and resulting new computer programs to study these irregular-shaped bacteriophages."

Dr. Tao is also appreciated for her ability to mentor and train others. Junhua Pan, Ph.D., in Tao’s lab, says “Dr. Tao has been a great advisor to me for the past five years. She serves an excellent model for me and for all of the members in the laboratory by showing her great passion for science, her belief of sacrificing for science, and her excellence in pursuit of science. She has created a positive atmosphere, a high standard and an appropriate degree of freedom for myself and others to pursue our research.”

Dr. Tao holds a B.S. in Biology from Peking University (1992) and her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Purdue University (1999). She is a member of Rice’s CBEN (Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology) and the W.M. Keck Center for Computational and Structural Biology, as well as the Houston-Area Molecular Biophysics Program. She is a native of Changsha, Hunan in the People’s Republic of China. 

She has a two-year-old daughter that keeps her busy outside of her lab, and in her spare time she enjoys gardening and reading. Regarding her family, Dr. Tao reflects, “I had always thought that having children is incompatible with an academic career, but this is a misconception. I am glad to say that it really has not affected my career.”

Why Rice? Dr. Tao quickly answers, “Nothing compares to the collegial atmosphere at Rice. Here we have colleagues who are extremely supportive and want others to succeed. I highly value the close interaction with other faculty members and between faculty members and students. I am very glad to see that our faculty has become much more diverse and that our new president is trying to promote international collaboration through internal grant support.” She also cites Houston’s weather, green grass, beautiful flowers, and booming Chinatown as local favorites.