Department News

Secrets in the Salt - Jack Griffith filmed on NOVA's scienceNOW

ahc — 2009-11-16T16:05:27Z

Salt deposits that formed 250 million years ago hold tantalizing hints of early life.

Andrew Hemmert receives 2010 GEAB Impact Award

ahc — 2009-11-16T13:39:59Z

Sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate School’s Graduate Education Advancement Board, the Impact Awards recognize graduate students whose research provides special benefits to the citizens of North Carolina. That impact can be basic as well as applied. It can have a direct impact on the citizens of North Carolina (and beyond) or a more indirect impact through new knowledge or insights gained, educational, economic, health, social and cultural, or environmental effects that will be derived from the research endeavor.

Andrew Hemmert, doctoral student of Biochemistry & Biophysics is currently working on Novel Protein-Based Therapeutics for Nerve Agent Detoxification in the lab of Professor Matthew Redinbo. The goal of Andy's research is to provide an array of commercial products designed to advance the state’s biotechnology industry and save the lives of North Carolina soldiers.

Nerve agent chemical weapons are some of the deadliest compounds ever created by man. The U.S. military is currently fighting two wars in regions of the world where these weapons have been used. Presently, more than 15% of the deployed troops are from units stationed in North Carolina. The current treatments for nerve agent poisoning offer only limited protection and must be administered rapidly to be effective. An ideal treatment would be an intervention capable of quickly destroying a broad range of nerve agents. Andy has developed a protein-based therapy with the enhanced ability to detoxify nerve agents, up to 10,000-fold faster than current treatments. This designed protein is considered by the U.S. military to be a promising therapy candidate for nerve agent protection. He is now developing these reagents into injectable therapeutics to protect at-risk personnel and miniaturized detectors to alert troops to the presence of specific nerve agents.

Dr. Redinbo states that "Andrew's work has the potential to enhance the survival of at-risk personnel in the event of a chemical weapons attack. Just as important, however, is the strength of his research on the basic science side of the equation. Protein design has the potential to generate a wide array of new catalytic reagents and therapeutic biologicals. Andy's results provide tremendous insight into how enzyme action can be tuned using generalizable structure-guided design principles."

For more information on the GEAB Impact Awards, visit: gradschool.unc.edu/student/awards/impact.

Looking at DNA through the Electron Microscope: the work of Jack Griffith

ahc — 2009-11-16T13:05:45Z

Congratulations to Dr. Jack Griffith, Distinguished Professor of Microbiology & Immunology and Biochemistry & Biophysics whose work was reprinted as a classic to commemorate the centennial of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

DNA Repair Mechanisms: the Work of Aziz Sancar

ahc — 2009-11-16T13:00:22Z

Congratulations to Dr. Aziz Sancar, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics whose work was reprinted as a classic to commemorate the centennial of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

New paradigms in Ras research

ahc — 2009-11-16T12:41:50Z

Ras is a family of genes encoding small GTPases involved in cellular signal transduction. If their signals are dysregulated, Ras proteins can cause cancer. Dr. Sharon Campbell explains her lab’s research into a novel mechanism for regulation of Ras proteins by reactive free radical species.

UNC scientists win $1.6 million stimulus award to accelerate decoding of human genome

ahc — 2009-10-19T13:51:31Z

Their effort will be part of a consortium of investigators studying the human genome blueprint, titled the “ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements” (ENCODE). The consortium’s overall goal is to assemble a comprehensive catalog of functional elements in the human genome.

Ever since the first genome sequence was published in 2001, scientists have been working to figure out what the sequence means. An analogy is walking across a desert and finding a large book in a language you don't know, then trying to figure out what the book is saying.

“In the case of the human genome, the book is a blueprint to building cells—and ultimately—the whole human. But we don't yet understand its language,” said Morgan Giddings, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology and of biomedical engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Giddings and UNC colleague Xian Chen, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics, have been developing methods for decoding the human blueprint by studying the things the blueprint produces: proteins. They relate the proteins back to the blueprint itself, to further decode the language of the genome blueprint.

Giddings and Chen have been awarded a $1.6 million 2-year “Grand Opportunities” (GO) grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute to accelerate this research. Their effort will be part of a consortium of investigators studying the human genome blueprint, titled the “ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements” (ENCODE). The consortium’s overall goal is to assemble a comprehensive catalog of functional elements in the human genome.

With their GO grant, Giddings and Chen will generate, analyze, and release to the public large-scale data sets that allow linking of the protein products in cells to their genomic blueprints. According to Giddings, “this will significantly promote our understanding of the language of the human genome, enhancing efforts to solve pressing human health issues like heart disease and cancer by understanding how errors in the blueprint lead to disease, and how we might fix those errors.”

Giddings is a member of the Carolina Center for Genome Sciences, and Chen is technology development director for the UNC Proteomics Core. The new grant will bring 4-6 new high-tech jobs to the Triangle.

NHGRI has awarded approximately $22 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 funds to support research aimed at identifying and understanding the genome’s functional elements.

Media contact: Les Lang, (919) 966-9366 or llang@med.unc.edu

Tae-Hong Kang receives UNC Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence

ahc — 2009-07-24T19:35:57Z

Each year, the Postdoctoral Scholars Awards for Research Excellence are given in recognition of the research promise demonstrated by individual postdoctoral scholars. The awards are open to postdoctoral scholars in all disciplines and are designed to assist postdoctoral scholars in their continued professional development by supporting the recipients in conference travel, purchasing books, lab materials, or engaging in other scholarly activities that directly enhance the individual's professional growth. As a recipient of the UNC Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence, Dr. Kang will receive $1000 to support his research training and development.

Dr. Kang is a current member of Aziz Sancar's lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. His work describes discovery of biological mechanisms that may explain why chemotherapy is more effective when given at certain times of the day. His studies of model organisms range from mammalian cells to mouse, using a combination of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, and genetics.

Arrel Toews invited as the 2009 Whitehead Lecturer

ahc — 2009-07-24T19:02:28Z

The Whitehead Medical Society is the student government of UNC's School of Medicine. The student group is named after Dr. Richard H. Whitehead who served as Dean of the school from 1890-1905. The Whitehead Lecture was established in 1947 in recognition of Dr. Whitehead's quality of service and leadership and since 1980 it has been an annual event to also highlight UNC faculty who have made exemplary contributions to the science and art of medicine.

Each year, the Whitehead Council, elected student officers within the Whitehead Medical Society, select a lecturer who is distinguished by "leadership, dedication, and devotion to medicine and teaching." This year they have bestowed this special honor to Dr. Arrel Toews who will be giving a talk entitled To Make the Best Better-Farm Stories, Deep Thinkers, Good Doctors. Along with this honor, Dr. Toews will also receive a certificate which designates him an Honorary Member of the Whitehead Society.

Dr. Toews has a long list of accomplishments in teaching and a long history of service at UNC; notwithstanding, he is also a perennial favorite among his students. Recently, he was the recipient of a 2009 Tanner Award for Excellence in Teaching, UNC's most prestigious teaching award. Taken together, it is certainly no surprise why he was selected to give this year's talk!

Aziz Sancar receives 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award from University of Texas, Dallas

ahc — 2009-07-23T22:04:45Z

The 2009 Distinguished Alumni Gala honored seven of The University of Texas at Dallas’ most outstanding alumni Saturday evening, March 28. President David Daniel was on hand to update the distinguished alumni and guests on the University’s strategic goals, and Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Aaron Conley spoke about the strength of the UT Dallas alumni network, and plans to reach out and engage alumni regionally and internationally.

Of the event, Conley said, “This ceremony celebrates not only the accomplishments of our alumni, but also the reasons behind our existence as a University. The advancement of knowledge leads to the betterment of society, and the alumni honored this year have had tremendous impact within their chosen fields, ranging from technology and business, to medicine and public service. Their exceptional career accomplishments, and their service and support of UT Dallas, should be a great point of pride for all of us here on campus, and for our alumni everywhere.”

This year, UT Dallas honored five individuals with the Distinguished Alumni Award and two with the Green and Orange Award.

The 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients

Mr. David L. Holmberg (MBA ’00). David Holmberg earned his MBA from UT Dallas School of Management EMBA program in 2000. He is the CEO and chairman of the board of Eye Care Centers of America in San Antonio and serves as president and CEO of Pennsylvania-based HVHC Inc. Prior to his role at Eye Care Centers of America, Holmberg served as the executive vice president of Zale U.S. and president of Zale Canada. In recognition of his efforts with Zale Corp., he received the Chairman’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 1996. Holmberg is a member of the School of Management Executive Advisory Council, and in 2003, he was named a “Distinguished Alumnus” by the School of Management.
The Honorable Jerry A. Madden (MS ’78). Texas State Representative Jerry Madden received his master’s of science degree in management and administration sciences from UT Dallas School of Management in 1978. First elected to the Texas Legislature in November 1992, Madden serves as the vice chair of the House Corrections Committee and as a member of the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee. In 2007, he was recognized by Texas Monthly as one of the 10 Best Legislators, was named by Capitol Insider to the “First Team” of performers in the 80th Texas Legislature and received “High Marks” from The Dallas Morning News.
Dr. Christopher Progler (Ph.D. ’97). Dr. Christopher Progler received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from UT Dallas Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science in 1997. He is the chief technology and executive vice president of Photronics in Allen, Texas, which makes reticles and photomasks for semiconductor and microelectronic applications. At Photronics he is responsible for global research and development, technology joint ventures and emerging technology opportunities. Progler is a member of the UT Dallas Jonsson School Industrial Advisory Board, and he serves on a number of technical advisory boards in his industry.
Dr. Aziz Sancar (Ph.D. ’77). Dr. Aziz Sancar earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from UT Dallas in 1977. He then joined the University of North Carolina faculty in 1982 and is currently the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the UNC School of Medicine. Sancar is the first Turkish-American member of the National Academy of Sciences, as well as its first UT Dallas alumnus. He credits his parents with instilling in him and his seven siblings the value of education. “My parents were both illiterate,” he said in a 2005 interview, “but they valued the importance of education, and did their best to ensure that all of their children would receive some education.” Sancar is married to UT Dallas alumna Gwen Boles Sancar.
Cynthia Sherry, M.D., CPE, MMM, FACR, FACPE (B.S. ’78). Dr. Cynthia Sherry earned a bachelor’s of science degree in chemistry from UT Dallas in 1978, a medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1983, and a master’s degree in medical management from Carnegie Mellon University in 1999. She is the chairman of the department of radiology at Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, where she oversees advanced diagnostic imaging technologies. She was chosen as one of the “Best Doctors in Dallas” from 2001 to 2008, and was team physician for the U.S. Figure Skating Championship in 2003. Sherry is married to UT Dallas chemistry professor A. Dean Sherry, Ph.D.

Each year, members of the UT Dallas community are asked to nominate noteworthy graduates for the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Green and Orange Awards. The nominees are recognized for their personal and professional achievements and for their commitment to the University.

The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor bestowed on alumni and is given to individuals who are distinguished in their chosen professions or life’s work and who demonstrate pride in the University. The Green and Orange award honors UT Dallas alumni who have provided exceptional service to the University.

The 2009 Distinguished Alumni Gala was sponsored by:

Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
Office of Undergraduate Education.
Center for BrainHealth.
School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences.
Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.
School of Interdisciplinary Studies.
School of Management.
School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Media Contacts: Lindsey Bacon, UT Dallas, (972) 883-6507, lindsey.bacon@utdallas.edu
or the Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, newscenter@utdallas.edu

Yi Zhang named as Kenan Distinguished Professor

ahc — 2009-06-25T19:17:02Z

Effective July 1, 2009, Dr. Yi Zhang, Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator has been named a Kenan Distinguished Professor.

University endowed professorships are designations created through gifts to the University to recognize excellence in teaching and research. A large number of endowed professorships available to the University come from the various Kenan professorships which have been credited with attracting or retaining outstanding faculty members and adding substantially to UNC's high academic standing.

Dr. Zhang is a leader in the burgeoning field of epigenetics, where researchers are searching for the mechanisms that control gene expression that are independent of the DNA sequence itself. His recent series of papers describes discovery of many of the enzymes known to modify the packaging of DNA by proteins known as histones. He works with model organisms ranging from yeast to human cells, using a combination of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, and genetics.

Learn more about Dr. Zhang's research: http://www.med.unc.edu/~zhangyi/lab.htm.

Brian Strahl awarded the 2009 Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize

ahc — 2009-06-25T19:18:01Z

Dr. Strahl is one of four recipients of the Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Award this year. The Hettleman Prize includes a $5,000 stipend and recognizes the artistic and scholarly achievements of outstanding junior tenure-track or recently tenured faculty. The award was established by Phillip Hettleman in 1986. Hettleman was an alumnus of UNC who moved to New York to start a Wall Street investment firm, Hettleman & Co.

Currently, Dr. Strahl's lab studies budding yeast as a model system to address the role of histone methylation in chromatin structure and function, especially as it relates to the process of gene transcription. They use a combination of biochemistry and genetics to study these enzymes, their associated factors, and the mechanisms behind how they regulate DNA-based activities in chromatin.

Dr. Strahl was also recently awarded an EUREKA award from the NIH last year and he is a past recipient of the UNC Jefferson Pilot Fellowship Award and Presidential Early Career Achievement Award.

Learn more about Dr. Strahl's research: http://www.med.unc.edu/%7Ebstrahl/.

UNC study identifies genetic cause of most common form of breast cancer

ahc — 2009-06-04T14:07:33Z

The discovery of tumor-suppressor genes has been key to unlocking the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to uncontrolled cell proliferation – the hallmark of cancer. Often, these genes will work in concert with others in a complex biochemical system that keeps our cells growing and dividing, disease free.The discovery of tumor-suppressor genes has been key to unlocking the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to uncontrolled cell proliferation – the hallmark of cancer.

Often, these genes will work in concert with others in a complex biochemical system that keeps our cells growing and dividing, disease free.Now researchers at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that defects in one gene, called p18, may override the rest, eventually leading to cancer.

This discovery, combined with new laboratory techniques, will help scientists identify and test new treatments for luminal-type tumors, which account for between 70 and 80 percent of all breast cancers, but are generally slower growing than other types.

The results of the research appear in the May 2009 issue of Cancer Cell.

Defects in the p18 gene have been observed in different types of human cancer. Senior study author Yue Xiong, Ph.D., William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of biochemistry and biophysics, observes, “When this gene is not expressed or is deleted, cells have no braking mechanism. They will continue to grow and divide until they turn into cancer.”

Xiong and his colleagues specifically targeted the role that p18 plays in the development of luminal breast cancers. Using genetically-engineered mice with deletion of p18 genes, they created a highly reliable model of human breast cancers. The researchers tested their model by analyzing the gene in samples from approximately 300 human breast cancer patients, proving that the decreased expression of the p18 gene is highly correlated with the development of luminal tumors.

“The mechanism behind these tumors is quite different from that of other forms of breast cancer. Understanding this mechanism and having a good mouse model allows us to specifically test how treatments work against these tumors, which may then benefit human patients,” said Xiong.

The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute Breast SPORE program, the National Institutes of Health and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Study co-authors from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center include Xin-Hai Pei, Ph.D., research assistant professor; Feng Bai, M.D., Ph.D., research associate; Matthew D. Smith, research specialist; Jerry Usary, research associate; Cheng Fan, research associate; and Charles M. Perou, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics and pathology and laboratory medicine.

School of Medicine contact: Les Lang, (919) 966-9366, llang@med.unc.edu
Lineberger center contact: Dianne Shaw, (919) 966-7834, dgs@med.unc.edu

Erin Heenan receives the 2009 Diane Harris Leadership Award

ahc — 2009-06-04T14:08:16Z

Erin Heenan has been awarded the 2009 Diane Harris Leadership Award for her exemplary public service as a doctoral student in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. The department elected to create this award in honor of Diane Harris, who retired in 2007 after 20+ years as student services manager, a position she held with great dedication and loyalty. Erin is an alumna of UNC at Chapel Hill where she received her bachelors degree in Chemistry. Erin currently trains in the lab of Henrik Dohlman and focuses her research on atypical G protein beta/gamma complex at the endosome.

Erin was presented with her plaque and $500 award check during the First Annual Graduation Student Recognition event on April 23, 2009. We are proud to have Erin as a member of our department - congrats!

Arrel Toews receives 2009 Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

ahc — 2009-02-23T22:00:01Z

The prestigious Tanner Award was created in 1952 with a bequest by alumnus Kenneth Spencer Tanner and his sister, Sara Tanner Crawford to establish an endowment fund in memory of their parents, Lola Spencer and Simpson Bobo Tanner. The award was established to recognize excellence in inspirational teaching of undergraduate students, particularly first- and second-year students. Nominations for the award can be submitted by faculty and students at UNC-CH with final selections made by the Chancellor's Committee on Undergraduate Teaching. The Tanner Teaching Awards are given annually to five full-time faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching and each winner receives $7,500 and a certificate.

Announcements of this year's winners were made during the half-time ceremony of a UNC vs. NCSU men's basketball game on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 (which on a fitting note, UNC also won). Chancellor Holden Thorp did the honors of recognizing Dr. Toews and the other outstanding faculty educators by revealing their win and shaking their hands in appreciation of their inspirational and important contributions to teaching at UNC-CH. The official award banquet to honor the winners will occur later this spring where the winners will receive their monetary award and be presented with their framed citation.

Dr. Toews came to Carolina in 1976 as a postdoctoral fellow in the Biological Sciences Research Center. The following year, he began teaching as a research instructor in our Department (Biochemistry and Biophysics) and now as a Research Professor, Dr. Toews continues to be heavily involved in teaching both undergraduates and medical students. He serves as course director for the Introductory to Biochemistry series for undergraduates and/or students preparing for careers in nursing, dental hygiene, or other professions with human and clinical relevance. Dr. Toews serves as course director for a biochemistry course in the Medical Education Development Program which is designed to enhance the opportunities in the medical and dental professions for disadvantaged students. He also lectures in the Molecules to Cells block of instruction for first-year medical students. He maintains a position on the UNC Faculty Council and was elected in 2007 as an inaugural member of the UNC Medical School's Academy of Educators - an honor that recognizes his excellence in teaching medical students. Last year, Dr. Toews also won a Faculty of the Year Award, an honor students of the UNC Student National Medicine Association bestowed on him with for his outstanding teaching and mentoring abilities. In short, Dr. Toews is no stranger to teaching accolades and honors, and his recent Tanner Award win is just icing on the cake.

True to form, Dr. Toews consistently receives rave reviews from his peers, colleagues, and most importantly his students. His teaching evaluations seldom if ever reveal any negative comments or feedback from his students; if anything, his students are nearly unanimous in their glowing praise and appreciation for his exceptional ability to present course material in an exciting way, but without compromising the rigors of science. All of us in the department are very proud to have Dr. Toews as a faculty member and he is most deserving of this great honor!

Previous Teaching Awards:
1996 – Johnston Undergraduate Teaching Excellence
1997 – Favorite Faculty Award (UNC Senior Class)
2003 – William C. Friday, Class of 1986 Teaching Excellence
2007 – Inaugural Member of UNC Medical School's Academy of Educators
2008 – Faculty of the Year Award (UNC Student National Medicine Association)

Possible drug target for obesity treatment a no-brainer

ahc — 2009-02-05T18:04:31Z

The new research could potentially lead to new pharmacologic approaches to treating obesity in humans that do not target the brain, according to study senior author Yi Zhang, Ph.D., Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of biochemistry and biophysics in the UNC School of Medicine. Zhang is also a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The findings also add new knowledge to the burgeoning field of epigenetics, in which heritable changes in gene expression or physical appearance are caused by mechanisms besides changes in the underlying DNA.

The gene in question encodes for a specific epigenetic factor, an enzyme called Jhdm2a. In 2006, Zhang showed that Jhdm2a was able to demethylate, or remove, a methyl group from one of four histone proteins bound to all genes. Because they are so intimately associated with DNA, even slight chemical alterations of histones can have profound effects on nearby genes.

The new study focused on a line of so-called “knockout” mice that lacked the Jhdm2a gene. Zhang found impairment in two molecular signaling pathways important for normal function in brown fat tissue and muscle cells. Both pathways exert a major influence on metabolism, the body’s conversion of food to energy. Without the enzyme, the mice had reduced metabolisms, becoming visibly obese.

To Zhang’s knowledge, this is the first mouse model to exhibit obese traits that do not result from an alteration in appetite, which is largely a brain function. “Given that this gene is not expressed in the brain, any drug that targets this gene would not have an effect on brain function,” he said. “Therefore, we are really looking for a pure effect on metabolism.”

With that in mind, Zhang anticipates that the study, published online Feb. 4, 2009, in the journal Nature, could be of great interest to pharmaceutical companies eager to develop new anti-obesity drugs aimed at a novel, new molecular target expressed in non-brain tissues.

Zhang said his group will continue to look for more detailed mechanisms involved in how the enzyme regulates the relevant genes and changes in the metabolic rate.

“My lab has a long-term interest in identifying histone-modifying enzymes,” said Zhang. “Three years ago, we discovered the jumanji family of histone demethylase, which is a huge family and brought big interest in the field to study this group of genes.”

That body of work has contributed significantly to a new understanding that mutations in epigenetic factors such as histone demethylase enzymes can have profound physiologic effects. The team had already zeroed in on the Jhdm2a enzyme, showing in a 2007 Nature publication that the Jhdm2a gene is highly expressed in mouse testes and plays an important role in spermiogenesis, the final step in the production of a functional sperm cell. Male mice with the gene knocked out were infertile.

That discovery has provided researchers with a new potential cause for male infertility, just as the current study shows that the same genetic defect leads to obesity in both male and female animals, shedding new light on the role of epigenetics in regulating metabolism.

“So this gene has at least two biological functions,” Zhang said. “One is control of spermiogenesis; the other is control of metabolism.”

This finding was not necessarily expected by the researchers. “Nobody could have predicted that this gene had this particular function in regulating metabolism,” Zhang said. “The histone-modifying enzymes actually have broad effect – every gene is packaged by histones. Therefore, when modifying histones, you can’t necessarily predict what function will be affected.”

In addition to being obese, the Jhdm2a knockout mouse also developed other characteristics related to human metabolic disorder, such as hyperlipidemia (raised lipid levels) and insulin resistance. Whether the mouse results will be mirrored in humans remains to be seen. “We don’t know whether this gene is defective in some of the obese or metabolic syndrome patients – those are things that need to be investigated,” Zhang said.

One of the lines of research Zhang and his colleagues will pursue is to conduct experiments with “conditional” knockout mouse models, in which the gene of interest is functionally removed from specific tissues, such as, in this case, brown fat or muscle tissue. According to Zhang, “that way we can ask specific questions and can pinpoint the specific tissue or cell types…then we can also pinpoint the specific molecular mechanism.”

The study was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health. Study co-authors include postdoctoral fellows Keisuke Tateishi, M.D., Ph.D., and Yuki Okada, Ph.D., and graduate student Eric Kallin.

Please visit Dr. Zhang's lab website to learn more about his research: http://www.med.unc.edu/~zhangyi/lab.htm