Xin Zhang
Westlake University
Professor
China
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Chemical biology, Biological chemistry, Fluorescent microscopy, Synthetic chemistry
B.S., 2001, University of Science and Technology of China; M.S., 2004, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (advisor: Prof. Ke-Li Han); Ph.D., 2010, California Institute of Technology (advisor: Prof. Shu-ou Shan); Postdoctoral Training, 2010-2015, The Scripps Research Institute (advisor: Prof. Jeffery W. Kelly); Assistant and Paul Berg Early Career Professor, 2015-2020, The Pennsylvania State University; 2020-2021, Associate Professor, The Pennsylvania State University; Professor, 2021-present, Westlake University
Tan, Z.; # Hsiung, C. -H.; # Feng, J.; # Zhang, Y.; Wan, Y.; Chen, J.; Sun, K.; Lu, P.; Zang, J.; Yang, W.; Gao, Y.; Yin, J.; Zhu, T.; Lu, Y.; Pan, Z.; Zou, Y.; Liao, C.; Li, X.; Ye, Y.; Liu, Y.; Zhang, X.* “Time-resolved fluorescent proteins expand fluorescent microscopy in temporal and spectral domains”, Cell 2025, 188, 1-19.
Ouyang, J.;# Chen, J.;# Wu, Z.; You, K.; Chen, T.; Gao, Y. Q.; Li, P.; Zhang, X.;* Li, T.* “Navigating condensate micropolarity to enhance small molecule drug targeting”, Nat. Chem. Biol. 2025, doi: 10.1038/s41589-025-02017-9.
Ye, S.; Latham, A. P.; Tang, Y.; Hsiung, C.-H.; Chen, J.; Luo, F.; Liu, Y.; Zhang, B.; Zhang, X.* “Micropolarity governs the structural organization of biomolecular condensates”, Nat. Chem. Biol. 2024, 20: 443–451.
Pan, Y.; Lei, J.; Mou, S.; Wu, Z.; Zhu, L.; Zeng, L.; Luo, F.; Ding, Y.; Liu, Y.; Zhang, X.* “Small molecules influence physical microenvironment of biomolecular condensates”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 26: 22686.
Zhu, L.; Pan, Y.; Hua, Z.; Liu, Y.; Zhang, X.* “Ionic effect on the microenvironment of biomolecular condensates”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 20: 14307–14317.
Ma, J.; # Luo, F.; # Hsiung, C.-H.; Dai, J.; Tan, Z.; Ye, S.; Ding, L.;* Shen, B.;* Zhang, X.* “Chemical control of fluorescence lifetime towards multiplexing imaging”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, 25: e202403029.
Ye, S.; Zhang, H.; Fei, J.; Wolstenholme, C.; Zhang, X.* “A general strategy to control viscosity sensitivity of molecular rotor-based fluorophores”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 3: 1339-1346.
Wolstenholme, C. H.; Hu, H.; Ye, S.; Funk, B. E.; Jain, D.; Hsiung, C.-H.; Ning, G.; Liu, Y.;* Li, X.; * Zhang, X.* “AggFluor: Fluorogenic toolbox enables direct visualization of the multi-step protein aggregation process in live cells”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 41: 17515–17523. (highlighted by JACS Spotlights, Protein Aggregation: It’s a Process).
Biological aggregates play significant roles in various cellular pathways and human diseases. Focused on the “Chemistry of Biological Aggregates”, the Zhang lab aspires to develop enabling chemical methodologies and solve transformative biological questions. At present, the Zhang lab combines expertise from synthetic chemistry, biological chemistry, cellular biology and chemical biology to develop chemical tools that quantitatively report on the physicochemical changes of biomolecules during processes of phase separation and aggregation. These results have the potential to correlate the physicochemical properties of biological aggregates to their physiological or pathological functions.
