Dr. Wade Zeno

Biography

Wade Zeno received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2010, where he minored in Mathematics and Chemistry. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering with a designated emphasis in Biotechnology from the University of California, Davis in 2016. His doctoral research focused on the characterization of biomaterials containing protein-lipid nanodiscs to understand and control lipid phase behavior in the presence of highly concentrated proteins. He completed an industrial internship at Bayer Pharmaceuticals working on protein purification and isolation. Following his Ph.D., he undertook postdoctoral research in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied the role of protein-lipid interactions in membrane trafficking. Zeno's research centers on the critical interfaces of cellular membranes, which are composed of a heterogeneous mixture of lipids and proteins. His work aims to elucidate the interplay of these biomolecular interactions for various applications, including pinpointing disease mechanisms and developing functional biomaterials. He employs engineering principles and fluorescence techniques to create tools that facilitate the understanding and control of protein-lipid interfaces.

Research Interests