Prof. Liang Zhang received his Bachelor of Medicine (MD equivalent) degree in 2001 with honor from Peking University Health Science Center in Beijing, China. He obtained his PhD degree from the University of Iowa and his PhD research was on delineating the cellular mechanisms that determine the transduction efficiency of adeno-associated virus (AAV) in normal epithelia and cancer cells, under the supervision of Prof. John Engelhardt. He performed his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Prof. Jeffrey Wrana on dissecting the signaling mechanisms of cancer metastasis, at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, Canada.

Research Interests

Our research is driven by our interests in understanding how inter- and intracellular signal transduction are implicated in human physiology and diseases. We apply integrative approaches that combine proteomics and systems biology tools to dissect the wiring of signaling networks. Our current focus is to elucidate the mechanisms by which cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment communicate with each other. The reciprocal interactions between cancer cells and the stromal tissues are recognized as a hallmark of cancer that plays a prime role in tumor initiation, growth, angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis, as well as drug resistance. Over the next few years, my team will engage in the following areas of research:

1. Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling in cancer metastasis.
2. Biology of extracellular vesicles.
3. Non-conventional roles of immunoglobulins.
4. Integrative approaches to discover novel cancer targets and therapeutics.

For more details about these projects, please visit https://zhanglab.wixsite.com/website/research.

Available Positions

With respect to training, the underpinning goal of our laboratory is to endow the trainees with comprehensive knowledge of advanced developments and outstanding research skills in cancer biology and biotechnology so that they would become leaders in the academic, industrial or government sectors. Motivated candidates who have strong interests in our research are always welcome to join the laboratory as PhD students, research assistants and postdoctoral fellows. Please directly contact Prof. Liang Zhang ([email protected]) for more details.

To apply for PhD positions, please refer to the departmental website for information and guidelines. Students are encouraged to apply for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme and other opportunities.

Publications

1. Ma H, Liao H, Dellisanti W, Sun Y, Chan LL*, & Zhang L*. Characterizing the Host Coral Proteome of Platygyra carnosa Using Suspension Trapping (S-Trap). Journal of Proteome Research 2021 20, 3, p. 1783–1791
2. Yi W^#, Li J^#, Zhu X^#, Wang X^#, Fan L, Sun W, Liao L, Zhang J, Li X, Ye J, Chen F, Taipale J, Chan KM*, Zhang L*, Yan J*. CRISPR-Assisted Detection of RNA-Protein Interactions in Living Cells. Nat Methods 2020 Jun 22. doi: 10.1038/s41592-020-0866-0.
3. Feng L, Xie Y*, Au-Yeung ASK, Hagos BH, Liu Z, Chen Q, Zhang J, Pang Q, Yao X, Yang M, Zhang L*, Sun H*. A fluorescent molecular rotor probe for tracking plasma membranes and exosomes in living cells. Chem Commun. 2020 Jun 26. doi: 10.1039/d0cc03069d.
4. Xie Y, Chen L, Wang R, Wang J, Li J, Xu W, Li Y, Yao SQ, Zhang L*, Hao Q* & Sun H*. Chemical Probes Reveal Sirt2's New Function as a Robust Eraser of Lysine Lipoylation. Journal of the American Chemical Society (2019) 141, 46, p. 18428-18436.
5. Wang R, Huang M, Li L, Kaneko T, Voss C, Zhang L *, Xia J *, Li SSC*. Affinity Purification of Methyllysine Proteome by Site-Specific Covalent Conjugation. Anal Chem (2018) Nov; 90 (23).
6. Tang J, Zhang J, Liu Y, Liao Q, Huang J, Geng Z, Xu W, Sheng Z, Lee G, Zhang Y, Chen J, Zhang L*, Qiu X *. Lung squamous cell carcinoma cells express non-canonically glycosylated IgG that activates integrin-FAK signaling. Cancer Letters (2018) Aug 28; 430:148-159.
7. Zhang L* Exosomes in Tumor Angiogenesis — Multifunctional Messengers With Mixed Intentions, in Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications of Exosomes in Cancer Edited by: Mansoor M. Amiji and Rajagopal Ramesh ? Academic Press (2018).
8. Zhang L, Luga V, Armitage SK, Musiol M, Won A, Yip CM, Plotnikov S, Wrana JL. A lateral signaling pathway coordinates shape volatility during cell migration. Nat Communications. (2016) May; 7:11714.
9. Zhang L, Wrana JL. The emerging role of exosomes in Wnt secretion and transport. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development. (2014) Aug; 27:14-19.
10. Luga V^#, Zhang L^#, Viloria-Petit AM, Ogunjimi AA, Inanlou MR, Chiu E, Hosein AN, Buchanan M, Basik M, Wrana JL. Exosomes mediate stromal mobilization of autocrine Wnt-planar cell polarity signaling in breast cancer metastasis. Cell. (2012) Dec; 151(7):1542-56.

26 October 2022