Zyla Lab

Stefano Joins the Lab

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Stefano is joining the lab as a staff scientist. He comes to us from the Jensen Lab at Caltech and Brigham Young University, where he led cryo-ET research on bacterial molecular machines, from type IV pili to flagellar motors. He’ll be leading our structural biology effort, with a particular focus on cryo-ET. Welcome aboard, Stefano!

Our lab joins the University of Colorado Cancer Center

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Our lab is now officially affiliated with the University of Colorado Cancer Center as part of the Tumor Host Interactions program.

We’re excited to join the CU Cancer Center network and look forward to collaborating with fellow research teams across campus.

Our Lab Featured in The New York Times

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Our lab was featured in a recent New York Times article on the renewed search for measles virus treatments. The story highlights how rising outbreaks have brought new attention to antiviral and antibody-based strategies for preventing or treating infection. Read the article in The New York Times.

Rob Joins the Lab as a Postdoctoral Researcher

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Robert Wolfe from Michigan State University joins the lab as a postdoctoral researcher. He brings extensive experience in structural biology, protein engineering, and biophysical approaches to study virology and immunology. He will be joining our team in September. Welcome, Rob!

Interviews for both open positions start soon!

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Both positions have since been filled — Rob Wolfe joined in May 2026 and Stefano Maggi in August 2026.

Research assistant / staff scientist position available!

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The research assistant / staff scientist position has been filled — Stefano Maggi joined the lab in August 2026.

Postdoc position available

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The postdoctoral position has been filled — Rob Wolfe joined the lab in May 2026.

Graphene Oxide (GO) Grid Preparation Protocol

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This protocol describes how to prepare 1-3 layers of semi-amorphous graphene oxide (GO) on Quantifoil grids, suitable for cryo-EM. GO films demonstrate reduced inelastic scattering and lower background compared to amorphous carbon, which improves phase contrast for imaging smaller complexes. In addition, it allows working with lower protein concentration and avoid prefered orientation. This protocol ensures 40-80% coverage of GO after vitrification, with precise handling steps to minimize aggregation and variation in coverage.

Papain Antibody Digestion Protocol

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This protocol details the steps for digesting 1 mg of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody using papain. It ensures efficient generation of Fab and Fc fragments with precise reagent concentrations and reaction conditions.

Materials

Buffers and Reagents
- 1M Sodium Acetate, pH 5.5
- IgG Antibody (≥1 mg/mL)
- 100 mM L-Cysteine (prepared fresh)
- 500 mM Iodoacetamide (prepared fresh)
- Papain Enzyme (~25 mg/mL)
- 500 mM EDTA, pH ~7.5
Other Reagents
- Glacial Acetic Acid
- Distilled Deionized Water (ddH₂O)
Consumables

Hello World!

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The lab is launching a new website! Stay tuned for updates.

Dawid S. Zyla

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dawid is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of protein refolding and how they contribute to its function. He completed his PhD on E. coli pili stability at ETH Zurich in the lab of Prof. Glockshuber and postdoctoral structural studies on Measles virus fusion proteins at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in Prof. Saphire Lab. With expertise in X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM and computational biology, Dawid established his lab at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in June 2026 to investigate how dynamic conformational changes drive protein function.

Robert Wolfe

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Robert Wolfe joins the lab after postdoctoral appointments at Michigan State University in the laboratories of Drs. James Geiger, Xuefei Huang, and Kelly Kim. He earned his Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from Michigan State University under the mentorship of Dr. David Weliky. His research integrates structural biology, protein engineering, and biophysical approaches to study virology and immunology, with expertise in cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography, protein design, and experimental method development. He is especially interested in the design and structural characterization of VLP-based vaccines and in understanding the molecular mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions. Outside the lab, Rob enjoys mead making, cooking, hiking, camping, weightlifting, mixed martial arts, and other outdoor activities.

Stefano Maggi

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Stefano is interested in uncovering the structural basis and mechanistic function of molecular machines through the integration of imaging, bioinformatics, and AI. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology and Molecular Biology from the Università degli Studi di Parma, followed by a PhD in the Rivetti Lab (2014–2017), where he used Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to study nucleoprotein complexes, transcriptional regulation mechanisms and developed a correlative AFM-fluorescence microscopy pipeline to capture membrane remodeling induced by toxin-antitoxin systems. He then joined, as post-doc, the Jensen Lab, first at Caltech and subsequently at Brigham Young University (2021–2025), where he led cryo-ET research on bacterial molecular machines—including type IV pili, secretion systems, and flagellar motors—as well as structural studies of the yeast Ire1-alpha unfolded protein response pathway. His long-term goal is to leverage structural and computational approaches to understand the architecture and mechanics of molecular machines, with the aim of re-engineering them for translational applications.