Dr. Wei Zhang
The research interests in my lab are in the field of ubiquitin signaling, protein engineering, targeted protein degradation, genome stability, and cancer therapeutics. In the past years, my lab has been working on development of synthetic biology approaches to manipulate human cell signal transduction cascades to identify new molecular mechanisms and innovative therapeutic strategies.
We have ~43 papers in high-impact journals. In University of Guelph, in early 2024 we published at ~21 papers. We greatly appreciate the following agencies provided funding support to this laboratory: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and the Early Researcher Awards program funded by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges & Universities.
- BSc – School of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University
- PhD – Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto
- Postdoctoral Fellow - The Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto
- Development of intracellular probes to delineate biochemical mechanisms of deubiquitinases
- Engineering post-translational modifications to probe and rewire cell signaling for cancer therapeutics
- Targeted protein degradation and stabilization
Complete list of publication and citations
name in bold: Zhang lab members; #: Co-first authors; *Corresponding authors
Research Articles:
- Tessier TM#, Chowdhury A#, Stekel Z, Fux J, Sartori MA, Teyra A, Jarvik A, Chung A, Kurinov A, Sicheri F, Sidhu SS, Singer AU*, Zhang W*. (2024) Structural and functional validation of a highly specific Smurf2 inhibitor. Protein Science 33, e4885. https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.4885
- Liu Q#, Mallette E#, Zheng, H, Zhang W*. (2023) Development of an OTUD1 ubiquitin variant inhibitor. Biochemical Journal 480,1317-1330.
- Aminu B#, Fux J#, Mallette E, Petersen N, Zhang W*. (2022) Targeted Degradation of 53BP1 Using Ubiquitin Variant Induced Proximity. Biomolecules 12, 479. [Editor’s Choice]
- Guo Y#, Liu Q#, Mallette E#, Caba C, Hou F, Fux J, LaPlante G, Dong A, Zhang Q, Zheng H, Tong Y*, Zhang W*. (2021) Structural and functional characterization of ubiquitin variant inhibitors for the JAMM-family deubiquitinases STAMBP and STAMBPL1. Journal of Biological Chemistry 297, 101107.
Book Chapter:
- Liu Q, LaPlante G, Zhang W*. (2022) Targeting the Ubiquitination Cascade for Drug Discovery. Protein Homeostasis in Drug Discovery: A Chemical Biology Perspective. 179-225. John Wiley & Sons. [Edited by Drs. Milka Kostic & Lyn H. Jones]
Reviews:
- Liang CT#, Roscow O#, Zhang W*. (2021) Recent developments in engineering protein-protein interactions using phage display. Protein Engineering, Design and Selection 34, 1-13.
- LeBlanc N#, Mallette E#, Zhang W*. (2021) Targeted modulation of E3 ligases using engineered ubiquitin variants. The FEBS Journal 288, 2143-2165.
- U of G Oncology Researchers Aim for Life-Saving Impacts. U of Guelph News (2023)
- U of G Researcher Looking for Anti-Viral Treatment for COVID-19. Office of Research at University of Guelph (2022)
- Five U of G Faculty Recognized with Early Researcher Awards. University of Guelph News (2022)
- U of G Awards Funding for COVID-19 Research Projects. University of Guelph News (2020)
- U of G Experts Contributing Key Research to COVID-19 Fight. University of Guelph News (2020)
- U of G Prof Named Among Elite CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars University of Guelph News (2019)
- Quick Chat: Professor Dr. Wei Zhang SynBio Canada (2019)
- Can Inhibiting Ubiquitin Target Undruggable Tumor Proteins? Cancer Therapy Advisor (2017)
- The Cancer Research Society awards its Scholarships for the Next Generation of Scientists to four young Canadian researchers. Cancer Research Society (2017)
- Rapid Screening of Viral Inhibitors Could Improve Response to Outbreaks. Biotechniques (2017)
- Scientists enlist engineered protein to battle the MERS virus. EurekAlert! (2017)
- New approach to Ebola, SARS leads to research award. Toronto Star (2016)
Graduate students:
- Qi Liu (PhD)
- Nathaniel Petersen (MSc)
Technicians:
- Olivia Roscow
- Julia Fux
Undergraduate courses:
BIOC*4050: Protein & Nucleic Acid Structure
MBG*2040: Foundations in Molecular Biology and Genetics
MCB*4500/4510: Research Project in Molecular & Cellular Biology
MCB*4600: Topics in Molecular & Cellular Biology
Graduate courses:
MCB*6500: MSc Research Topics in Molecular & Cellular Biology
MCB*7500: PhD Research Topics in Molecular & Cellular Biology