Yi-Chih Lin

Dr. Yi-Chih Lin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 2017 under the mentorship of Prof. Zahra Fakhraai. He subsequently completed his postdoctoral training at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, where he worked with Prof. Simon Scheuring in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Biochemistry and Biophysics. In 2021, Dr. Lin joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin.

A major challenge in chemistry and biology is the ability to directly observe how biomolecules change structure, interact, assemble, and carry out function in real time, particularly under physiologically relevant conditions. Many essential processes involve transient intermediates, heterogeneous molecular states, and rapid conformational changes that are difficult to resolve using static structural methods or ensemble-averaged measurements.

Visualizing biomolecular dynamics at the single-molecule level is essential for understanding how molecular structure and interactions produce biological function. Our research group focuses on developing high-speed atomic force microscopy, quantitative image-analysis methods, and other biophysical technologies that capture nanoscale structural and functional dynamics in real time. These approaches enable direct measurements of molecular recognition, conformational transitions, assembly pathways, membrane remodeling, and biochemical reactions.

Current projects investigate protein–nucleic acid interactions involved in genome organization, editing, cleavage, damage, and repair; membrane-protein structure and dynamics in native-like environments; and viral protein assembly and host recognition. We also develop advanced instrumentation and artificial intelligence–assisted methods for molecular identification, tracking, segmentation, and quantitative analysis.

By integrating physical chemistry, chemical biology, molecular and structural biology, engineering, and computation, our lab develops experimental and analytical platforms that connect molecular structure, dynamics, mechanics, and activity. Our work aims to establish fundamental principles of biomolecular function and to enable new applications in biological imaging, disease-related mechanistic studies, nanotechnology, and molecular medicine.