Bio

PhD candidate in Chemistry and Computer Science, affiliated with the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and the ChEM-H Institute at Stanford. Investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying chronic diseases, cancer and fibrosis, with interest on applying ML/DL approaches to drug discovery and disease modeling.

Contact

  • Academic
    senecio@stanford.edu
    University - Student Department: Chemistry Position: Graduate
    University - Student Department: Computer Science Position: Graduate

Additional Info

Lab Affiliations

All Publications

  • Membrane Curvature Activates Src kinase and Promotes Metastatic Cancer Cell Survival. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology Zhang, W., You, H., Zou, X., Lu, C. H., Zhang, X., Amine, A., Jahed, Z., Lin, M. Z., Cui, B. 2026

    Abstract

    Src family kinases (SFKs) play key roles in cancer metastasis. While SFKs are classically regulated by cell adhesions and transmembrane receptors, how they become activated following tumor cell detachment remains unclear. Here, we report curvature-induced kinase activation (CIKA), a distinct mechanism through which plasma membrane curvature directly promotes Src activation. Mechanistically, membrane curvature promotes the oligomerization of TOCA-family curvature-sensing proteins, inducing local biomolecular condensation. These condensates recruit Src, stabilize its open conformation, and exclude the negative regulator Csk, converting curved membrane domains into discrete kinase activation hubs. Disruption of CIKA using TOCA mutants inhibits curvature-induced Src activation and selectively impairs the viability of detached but not adherent cells. Functionally, curvature-induced Src activation promotes anchorage-independent survival, and its disruption suppresses metastatic colonization in xenograft mouse models. These findings reveal membrane curvature as a biophysical activator of Src and suggest CIKA inhibition as a potential therapeutic strategy to target metastatic cancer cells.

    View details for DOI 10.64898/2026.03.03.709279

    View details for PubMedID 41867776

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC13001394

  • Curved adhesions resist disruption by high-affinity αv integrin inhibitors Lee, C. E., Martinez, J., Amine, A., Zhang, W., Lu, C., Zhang, X., You, H., Tsai, C., Cui, B. CELL PRESS. 2026: 72a

    View details for Web of Science ID 001717742700069

  • Dynamic mechanoresponsive polymers enabled by ring-opening polymerization of cyclic propargyl carbonates CHEM Wang, J., Zhang, X., Bai, J., Liu, Q., Wen, J., Zhu, R. 2025; 11 (12)

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102643

    View details for Web of Science ID 001640862400002

  • Single Nanocrown Electrodes for High-Quality Intracellular Recording of Cardiomyocytes ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES Tsai, C., Gao, H., Forro, C., Yang, Y., Shautsova, V., Zhang, X., Jahed, Z., Cui, B. 2025

    View details for DOI 10.1002/admi.202500187

    View details for Web of Science ID 001520968900001

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5468-4215