Associate Professor Zhang Yongliang

Zhang Yongliang

PhD

Associate Professor

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Affliations:

  • LSI Immunology Programme
  • Assistant Director of Research, Dept of Pathology, University of Cambridge

Email: miczy@nus.edu.sg

Tel: 6516 6407

Research Interest

We are interested in signal transduction pathways that regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, and how dysregulated signalling leads to pathological outcomes, such as inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. We have shown that members of a protein family called MAPK phosphatase (MKP), also known as dual specificity phosphatase (DUSP), play important roles in innate and adaptive immune responses. Currently, we are focusing on understanding the function of various MKPs/DUSPs in physiological and pathophysiological conditions including microbial infection, obesity and obesity-associated metabolic disorders, and cancer. We use multiple approaches, including gene overexpression, knockdown and knockout, and respective animal models, as well as human studies to achieve the goals. Our long term goal is to translate the findings from these studies to develop therapeutic interventions to improve patient outcomes.

Awards

  • Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Faculty Research Excellence Award 2022
  • Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Graduate Mentor of the Year (GRAMAY) 2019

Patents

2019 - Recombinant bacteria and uses thereof Patent no.: WO2020176042A1

Society Memberships

Singapore Society of Immunology (Council Member)

Recent Publications

  1. Png C. W., Lee W. J.J., Chua S. J., Zhu F., Yeoh K. G., and Zhang Y. 2022. Mucosal microbiome associates with progression to gastric cancer. Theranostics. https://www.thno.org/v12p0048.
  2. Tang P., Virtue S., Goie J. Y. G, Png C. W., Guo J., Li Y., Jiao H., Chua Y. L., Campbell M., Moreno-Navarrete J. M., Shabbir A., Fernández-Real J. M., Gasser S., Kemeny D. M., Yang H., Vidal-Puig A., and Zhang Y. 2021. Regulation of adipogenic differentiation and adipose tissue inflammation by interferon regulatory factor 3. Cell Death & Differentiation. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41418-021-00798-9.
  3. Low H.B., Wong Z. L., Wu B., Kong L. R., Png C. W., Cho Y., Li C., Xiao F., Xin X., Yang H., Low J. M., Lee F. Y. X., Tan I. B. H., Dasgupta R., Shen H.M., Schwarz H., Gascoigne N. R. J., Goh B. C., Xu X., and Zhang Y. 2021. DUSP16 promotes cancer resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy through regulation of mitochondria-mediated cell death. Nature Communications. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22638-7.
  4. Darlyuk-Saadon I., Bai C., Heng C. K. M., Gilad N., Yu W. P., Lim P. Y., Cazenave-Gassiot A., Zhang Y., Wong W. S. F., and Engelberg D. 2021. Active p38a causes macrovesicular fatty liver in mice. PNAS, 2021 118 (14) e2018069118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2018069118.
  5. Ng Z.L., Siew J., Li J., Ji G., Huang M., Liao X., Yu S., Chew Y., Png C. W., Zhang Y., Wen S., Yang H., Zhou Y., Long Y. C., Jiang Z. H., and Wu Q. 2021. PATZ1 (MAZR) co-occupies genomic sites with p53 and inhibits liver cancer cell proliferation via regulating p27. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 9: article 586150.
  6. Ni Q., Song X., Png C.W., Zhang Y*., and Zhao Y*. 2020. Access to substituted cyclobutenes by tandem [3, 3]-sigmatropic rearrangement/ [2 + 2] cycloaddition of dipropargylphosphonates under Ag/Co relay catalysis. Chemical Science. 11: 12329-12335. (*Co-corresponding authors).
  7. Tan E.E.K., Hopkins R.A., Lim C.K., Jamuar S.S., Ong C., Thoon K.C., Koh M.J.A., Shin E.M., Lian D.W.Q., Weerasooriya M., Lee C.Z.W., Soetedjo A.A., Lim C.S., Au V.B., Chua E., Lee H.Y., Jones L.A., James S.S., Kaliaperumal N., Kwok J., Tan E.S., Thomas B., Wu L.X., Ho L., Fairhhurst A.M., Ginhoux F., Teo A.K.K., Zhang Y., Ong K.H., Yu W., Venkatesh B., Tergaonkar V., Reversade B., Chin K.C. Tan A.M., Liew W.K., Connolly J.E. 2020. A dominant-negative NFKBIA mutation promotes IL-1b production causing hepatic disease with severe immunodeficiency. J. Clin. Invest. 130(11):5817-5832. doi: 10.1172/JCI98882.
  8. Chan S.C.L., and Y. Zhang. 2020. PAC1-ing up the epigenetic landscape. Nature Immunology. 21 (3): 247-248.
  9. Li Y., James S.J., Wyllie D.H., Wynne C., Czibula A., Bukhari A., Pye K., Mustafah S.M.B., Fajka-Boja R., Szabo E., Angyal A., Hegedus, Z., Kovacs L., Hill A.V.S., Jefferies C.A., Wilson H.L., Zhang Y.*, and Kiss-Toth E*. 2019. TMEM203 is a binding partner and regulator of STING-mediated inflammatory signaling in macrophages. PNAS. 116 (33): 16479-16488. (*Co-corresponding authors).
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Lab Members

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