Principal Investigator

Huiming Zhang Ph.D.

Professor of IBMS

Professor Huimin Zhang received her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Peking University in the year of 2001. Her PhD studies was carried out in thedepartment of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University, USA. She received her post-doctoral training in Michel Labouesse lab at the Institute of Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology in France from the year 2007 to 2011. Professor Zhang’s has been using Caenorhabditis elegansas the model organism to study celluar and molecular mechanisms of epidermal-related diseases. The main focuses of her research include tension-sensitive mechanotransduction pathways in the epidermis, the structures and functions of epidermal attachment structures and the host defense mechanisms of the epidermis against infection and physical injury. Professor Zhang has published her stories in several first-class international journals including Nature, Current Biology and PNAS, as well as invited reviews by Current Opinions in Cell Biology, Journal of Cell Science and Springer-Verlag. Professor Zhang is currently principle investigator at the Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences, Soochow University.

Research Interest

Our team's research is focused on the epithelial tissues that outline our body and organs. These highly organized tissue layers have specific junctional complexes that play essential roles during morphogenesis, as well as later on in pathogenesis. We utilize the model Caenorhabditis elegans, combining molecular genetics and modern imaging methods to explore the underlying mechanisms of: 1) the biogenesis and reorganization control of epithelial junctional complexes. 2) the roles  of epithelial junctional complexes in signal transduction and regulation of gene e­xpression. 3) the interplay between change of epithelial architecture and other basic cellular processes.

Selected publications

1. 1. Yun Zhang, Wenna Li, Linfeng Li, Yuanbao Li, Rong Fu, Yi Zhu, Jie Li, Yanfeng Zhou, Sidong Xiong and Huimin Zhang （2015）Structural Damage in the C. elegans Epidermis Causes Release of STA-2 and Induction of an Innate Immune Response. Immunity 42：309-320

   2. Huimin Zhang and Michel Labouesse (2012)Signaling through mechanical input: acoordinated process. Journal of Cell Science 125:3039-3049.

   3. Huimin Zhang, Frédéric Landmann, Hala Zahreddine,David Rodriguez, Marc Koch and Michel Labouesse (2011) A tension-inducedmechanotransduction pathway promotes epithelial morphogenesis. Nature471:99-103.

   4. Huimin Zhang, Christelle Gally and MichelLabouesse (2010) Tissue morphogenesis: how multiple cells cooperate to generatea tissue. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 22(5):575-82.

   5. Huimin Zhang and Michel Labouesse (2010) The making of hemidesmosome structures in vivo. Dev Dyn. 239(5):1465-76.

   6. HalaZahreddine, Huimin Zhang(co-firstauthor), Marie Diogon, Yasuko Nagamatsu, and Michel Labouesse (2010)CRT-1/calreticulin and the E3 ligase EEL-1/HUWE1 control hemidesmosomematuration in C. elegans development.Curr Biol. 20(4):322-7.

   
   

   
   

   
   

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Team Members



Xiaoyan Sun Ph.D.,

Lecturer




Dr. Sun received her PhD degree in Biomolecular Science from University of Science and Technology in Korea in the year of 2012. She performed her postdoctoral training in Biomedical Research Center at Korean Institute of Science andTechnology in the followingyear. In 2013, she became a staff member of Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences.Her research interests center on the mechanisms of wound repair in various skin disorders like hypertrophic scarring. She also study the protein interaction involved in C.eleganshemidesmosome biogenesis and innate immune responses to wounding in the C.elegansepidermis.

Selected publications:

1. Sun, X., Y. Kim, B. S. Yang. 2014. Topical application of ALK5 inhibitor A83-01 reduces burn wound contraction in rat by suppressing myofibroblast population.Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry (accepted).

2. Jung, S. H., X. Sun, W. S. Ryu, and B. S. Yang. 2013.Topical administration of the pan-Src kinase inhibitors, dasatinib and LCB03-0110, prevents allergic contact dermatitis in mice. The British journal of dermatology 168:112-119.

3. Sun, X., T. N. Phan, S. H. Jung, S. Y. Kim, J. U. Cho, H.Lee, S. H. Woo, T. K. Park, and B. S. Yang. 2012. LCB 03-0110, a novelpan-discoidin domain receptor/c-Src family tyrosine kinase inhibitor,suppresses scar formation by inhibiting fibroblast and macrophage activation.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics 340:510-519.






Yi Zhu M.Sc.,

Technician


Yi Zhu received her Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences in 2007 and the master degree in forensic genetics in 2011 at Sichuan University. She is now a research technicianat the Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences of Soochow University.






E-mail：zhanghuimin@suda.edu.cn

Office：Dushu Lake 703-B416

Office Tel：(86)512 658 82162