主要从事流感病毒、新型冠状病毒、单纯疱疹病毒以及寨卡病毒等重要病原体的研究工作，并已取得了具有一定影响力的创新性成果，目前已在Cell、Protein Cell以及JV等期刊上以第一作者或共同第一作者身份发表论文多篇。代表性成果包括：揭示了新型冠状病毒转录复制复合体介导的RNA加帽以及错配较正等重要过程的分子机制；阐明了单纯疱疹病毒末端酶复合物介导基因组包装过程的分子机制；探索了寨卡病毒E蛋白基于结构的进化分析及其与神经毒性的关系。作为主要完成人之一获得2021年度中国科学十大进展、2021年度中国生命科学十大进展、 中国2021年度重要医学进展等。入选中国科协青年人才托举工程、北京市科协青年人才托举工程等。

(1) Liming Yan #, Yunxiang Yang #, Mingyu Li #, Ying Zhang #, Litao Zheng #, Ji Ge #, Yucen Huang #, Zhenyu Liu #, Tao Wang, Shan Gao, Ran Zhang, Yuanyun Huang, Luke W. Guddat, Yan Gao *, Zihe Rao *, and Zhiyong Lou *. Coupling of N7-methyltransferase and 3'-5' exoribonuclease with SARS-CoV-2 polymerase reveals mechanisms for capping and proofreading. Cell. 2021,184 (13), 3474-3485 e11.

(2) Yunxiang Yang #, Pan Yang #, Nan Wang, Zhonghao Chen, Zhenghong Zhou, Zihe Rao *, and Xiangxi Wang *. Architecture of the viral genome-packaging complex and implications for DNA translocation. Protein Cell. 2020, 11(5):339–351.

(3) Mengli Cheng #, Yunxiang Yang #, Fan Yang, Zhongyu Liu, Dan Wen, Pan Yang, Xingyao Huang, Haolong Dong, Yanpeng Xu, Xiaofeng Li, Yongqiang Deng, Qing Ye, Ling Zhu, Juan Li, Aihua Zheng, Weifeng Shi, Xiangxi Wang *, Chengfeng Qin *. Glycan loop deletions in the envelope protein of Asian Zika virus enhance neurovirulence and cause severe microcephaly in mice. Journal of Virology. 2022, 96(23):e0087922.

(4) Liming Yan #, Ji Ge #, Litao Zheng #, Ying Zhang, Yan Gao, Tao Wang, Yucen Huang, Yunxiang Yang, Shan Gao, Mingyu Li, Zhenyu Liu, Haofeng Wang, Yingjian Li, Yu Chen, Luke W. Guddat, Quan Wang, Zihe Rao *, and Zhiyong Lou *. Cryo-EM Structure of an Extended SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Transcription Complex Reveals an Intermediate State in Cap Synthesis. Cell. 2021, 184 (1), 184-193 e10.