Eminent Professor
Dorian and John Blackmon Chair in Biomedical Science
Department of Biomedical Sciences
College of Medicine
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4300
Telephone: 850-645-2501
Email: zucai.suo@med.fsu.edu
Available Positions
Postdoctoral Positions in Exosome-Based Drug Discovery:
Two postdoctoral positions are available immediately in a drug discovery and enzymology laboratory to develop new therapies based on drug delivery via either liposomes or extracellular vesicles (exosomes) secreted by human mesenchymal stem cells. Background in extracellular vesicles, molecular biology, drug screening, cell-based assays, protein purification, recombinant DNA techniques, and biochemistry is preferred. An important criterion for selection will be the ability of the desired individuals to pursue independent research in an active multi-disciplinary setting. Any interested candidate should send a CV, and a statement describing experience, goals, and reasons for the interest in the positions, and arrange to have three letters of recommendation sent to: Dr. Zucai Suo, Eminent Professor and Dorian and John Blackmon Chair in Biomedical Science, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL. Dr. Suo can be contacted by email (zucai.suo@med.fsu.edu). Further information about the research projects in the Suo Lab can be obtained from https://med.fsu.edu/suolab/home.
Professional Research Assistant, OPS (Biomedical Sciences, Medicine):
Full-time role responsible for performing independent laboratory research, to include designing and performing biological and/or biochemical assays on the bench; operating laboratory instruments; and taking detailed notes of experimental procedures and phenomena, analyzing experimental data, and writing research reports. Analyzes existing methodologies, and develops new protocols. Evaluates and prepares statistical analysis of data accumulated in ongoing research. Collects, synthesizes, studies, reports, and produces results based on data derived from measurements or observations. Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology or Biochemistry and three years of prior research experience; or a Master of Science in Biology or Biochemistry and one year of prior research experience. (Higher education may substitute for experience at the equivalent rate.) Please contact lab manager Angela Li at angela.li@med.fsu.edu
Recent News, Awards, and Recognition
Turner Seay and Katelyn Kirves have been granted the 2024 COM Summer Research Fellowship Program award.
Daniel Betancourt has been selected as a presenter tin the annual American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Science in a Flash communication competition. The event will be held on-site at the Exhibit Hall of the DiscoverBMB conference in San Antonio.
Daniel Betancourt and Nikita Zalenski have been granted the 2024 Graduate Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, supported by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Maximizing Access Committee (MAC).
The article "Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes: Applications in Regenerative Medicine", Cells, 10(8), 1959. [Online Access] has been selected as the first prize winner of the Cells 2023 Best Paper Awards among papers published in the journal. [Online Access]
In a recently published article by VeryWellHealth, Zucai Suo, an Eminent Professor at Florida State University has been interviewed to discuss the possibilities of why your symptoms may be worse ager your second COVID-19 shot. [Article]
In a recently published article by VeryWellHealth, Zucai Suo, an Eminent Professor at Florida State University has been interviewed to discuss the two new COVID-19 variants discovered in Ohio. [Article]
In a recently published article by ABC27WTXL, Zucai Suo, an Eminent Professor at Florida State University has been interviewed to discuss the contagiousness of UK COVID-19 variants. [Article]
In a recently published article by WJLA, Eminent Professor and Dorian and John Blackmon chair in Biomedical Science Zucai Suo, together with Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, has been interviewed to discuss J&J vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 variants. [Article]
In a recently published article by SunSentinel, Dr. Zucai Suo, an eminent professor of biomedical science at Florida state University said "With more information, we could figure out ways to mitigate side effects". [Article]
In a recently published article by FSUNews.com, Eminent Professor and Dorian and John Blackmon chair in Biomedical Science Zucai Suo, has been interviewed to discuss COVID-19 variants. [Article]
In a recently published article by FSUNews.com, Professor Zucai Suo, has been interviewed to discuss viability of COVID-19 vaccines. [Article]
In a recently published article by Verywellhealth.com, Professor Zucai Suo, has been interviewed to discuss on how will the COVID-19 vaccine be distributed. [Article]
This Morning with Henry Shinn, TBS eFM 101.3 MHz, the first all-English radio station in Seoul, South Korea: Professor Zucai Suo, has been interviewed to discuss on UK's Pfizer -Astrazeneca vaccination plan and uncertainties among the general public . [Radio Clip]
Professor Zucai Suo won the FSU College of Medicine Faculty Council Award for Outstanding Senior Faculty Researcher 2020-2021.
FSU’s Office of the Vice President for Research awarded faculty members a pot of more than $134,000 for the Spring 2020 GAP Commercialization Investment Program (GAP). A better way to treat wounds: Zucai Suo, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and David Meckes, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, have developed a new way to produce and purify exosomes, which are fluid-filled packages released by cells. [Article]
Our recently published article "Discovering How Drugs Combat HIV and Why Resistance Can Occur" has been highlighted in Drug Target Review.
In a paper published by Communications Biology , an open-access journal from Nature Research, Professor Zucai Suo and colleagues also provide the key to understanding how a single HIV-1 mutation can inactivate the anti-HIV drugs emtricitabine and lamivudine.[Press Release]
Undergraduate researcher Alice Hamilton has been awarded General Chemistry II award in 2019.
Undergraduate student Kirstie Walters has been awarded Hoffman chemistry and biochemistry scholarship in 2019.
Our recent article "Sharpening the Scissors: Mechanistic Details of CRISPR/Cas9 Improve Functional Understanding and Inspire Future Research" has been highlighted in JACS spotlight.
Media coverage: Office of news source, Florida State University: Moving translational research forward: Noted scientist joins College of Medicine faculty
College of Medicine Spotlight: The Cutting Edge
Dr. Vineet Gaur, a former post-doctoral researcher, has been awarded 2018 Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, which is given to Indian nationals who have conducted research overseas and demonstrated an excellent publication and achievement track record. The Fellowship provides senior researcher status and stipend for those researchers who are returning to India for faculty positions. Dr. Gaur will be joining National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, India in May, 2019.
Our recent publication in JACS, “Functional Insights Revealed by the Kinetic Mechanism of CRISPR/Cas9” has been recommended in F1000Prime. [F1000 Recommendation]
Our recent publications in JACS regarding the mechanism and new activity of CRISPR/Cas9 have been featured in a JACS Spotlight. [JACS Spotlight]
Our recent publication in Nature, “Dynamic basis for dG•dT misincorporation via tautomerization and ionization”, has been recommended in F1000Prime as being of special significance in its field. [F1000 Recommendation]
The Suo lab has recently published two articles in the Journal of the American Chemical Society detailing the kinetic mechanism of CRISPR/Cas9 as well as identifying and characterizing a novel activity of Cas9. [Kinetic Mechanism Publication][New Activity Publication] [Press Release]
Dr. Suo and Walter Zahurancik, in collaboration with Dr. Al-Hashimi’s lab at Duke University, have published a research article in Nature entitled: “Dynamic basis for dG•dT misincorporation via tautomerization and ionization”. [Online Access] [OSU Press Release] [Duke Press Release][Myron Goodman Commentary in Nature]
Dr. Suo and Walter Zahurancik’s publication in Cell, “Comprehensive analysis of hypermutation in human cancer”, has been highlighted in a commentary also published in Cell. [Commentary in Cell]
Our 2017 publication in Aids Research and Human Retroviruses, “Long-term survival of AIDS patients treated with only traditional Chinese medicine”, has become the No. 1 most downloaded publication of that journal in the past 12 months (as of December 2017).
Former Postdoctoral Researcher Dr. Rajan Vyas was awarded the 2017 Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship, which is given to Indian nationals who have conducted research overseas and demonstrated an excellent publication and achievement track record. The Fellowship provides senior researcher status and stipend for those researchers who are returning to India for faculty positions. Dr. Vyas is currently working as Assistant Professor at Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, India.
Dr. Suo has served as the secretary for the Division of Chemical Toxicology of the American Chemical Society since January 2016 and has just been elected to the position of treasurer starting in 2020.
Dr. Suo has been awarded the 2017 Okeanos-CAPA (Chinese-American Chemistry & Chemical Biology Professors Association) Senior Investigator Award.
Former Suo Lab graduate student Dr. Shanen Sherrer has accepted a faculty position at St. Mary’s College of Maryland in the Department of Biochemistry.
Former Suo Lab graduate student Dr. Jessica Brown has accepted a faculty position at the University of Notre Dame in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. [New Faculty Announcement]
Our 2015 publication in JACS, “Viewing Human DNA Polymerase β Faithfully and Unfaithfully Bypass an Oxidative Lesion by Time-Dependent Crystallography,” has been featured in the April 26th, 2016 edition of APS Science Highlight. [Online Access]
Our recent publication in JACS, “Mechanistic Basis for the Bypass of a Bulky DNA Adduct Catalyzed by a Y-Family DNA Polymerase,” has been recommended in F1000Prime as being of special significance in its field.
Our recent publication in JACS, “Viewing Human DNA Polymerase β Faithfully and Unfaithfully Bypass an Oxidative Lesion by Time-Dependent Crystallography,” has been recommended in F1000Prime as being of special significance in its field.
Former Suo Lab graduate student Dr. Brian Maxwell has been awarded the George Mitchell Endowed Fellowship from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This is prestigious award is given to only one Postdoctoral Researcher every year.
Dr. Suo was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for distinguished contributions to the field of nucleic acid enzymology, particularly for pre-steady state kinetic and protein conformational dynamic studies of DNA polymerases. Read more