Research Experiences
During the past 3 years, I have been actively, extensively, and intensively involved in the research supervised by
Dr. Bo Zhang and became extremely interested in Cellular and Molecular Biology. I enjoy working in the
laboratory and have achieved some results in the field of atopic dermatitis, RSI invasion mechanism, and Rho
GTPase-Pol II CTD signaling pathway.
Study in Atopic Dermatitis (AD) Wenzhou, China
Supervised by Dr. Bo Zhang Jun. 2021 – Aug. 2023
AD is an inflammatory skin disease that is characterized by pruritus and skin barrier dysfunction. Millions of
people suffer from AD syndrome, but its etiology and formal diagnosis are still unestablished. Staphylococcus
aureus is known to worsen AD and is consistently found in eczematous skin lesions. However, when studying
skin flora from an AD patient in the microbiology lab, we observed an unusual pattern of bacteria culture that
was not identified in previous AD studies.
By collaborating with Wenzhou Central Hospital, we investigated the importance of Bacillus in AD study, and
found an extremely low percentage of S. aureus in AD patient. Based on our in vivo results, Bacillus showed
a more dominant role than S. aureus in worsening AD. We also compared the Bacillus from healthy group,
finding out that Bacillus in AD and healthy group differed. Bacillus in AD patient showed atypical
characteristics and might has evolved.
It is clear to me that Bacillus is overlooked in AD, but there still remain some fundamental questions:
• AD has been studied for hundreds of years. In our samples, it seems S. aureus is not significant at all while other
researchers detected very high rate of S. aureus, why?
• AD is possibly related to a defective skin barrier. Can Bacillus damage the skin barrier? What substance in
Bacillus triggers AD?
• What is the relationship between Bacillus and S. aureus? Friend or foe?
• In addition to Bacillus and S. aureus, are there any other overlooked microbes that are involved in AD etiology?
Mechanism of ExoR regulation in RSI (ExoR-ExoS-ChvI) Invasion Switch Wenzhou, China
Supervised by Dr. Bo Zhang Aug. 2021 – Aug. 2023
This project is co-supervised by Dr. Haiping Cheng, a professor and chair of Biology department at Lehman
College (City University of New York). RSI invasion switch is highly conserved in alphaproteobacteria, but its
detailed regulatory mechanism remains largely unknown. By careful biochemical sleuthing, we want to
engineer the ExoR proteins to enhance or reduce RSI invasion in different alphaproteobacterial species. To this
aim, we have successfully expressed and purified the full-length periplasmic protein ExoR, synthesized SMA
nanodisc polymer for membrane protein ExoS purification, engineered the structural state of ExoR, and
co-expressed ExoR and ExoS for protein-protein interaction study.
Exploring Rho GTPase-Pol II CTD signaling pathway in cell morphogenesis Wenzhou, China
Supervised by Dr. Bo Zhang Jan. 2023 – Aug. 2023
Cdc42, as one of Rho GTPase, is the pivotal signaling switch in cell morphogenesis. CTD (C-terminal domain)
exists in RNA polymerase II. Its phosphorylation level is essential for transcription to proceed. It is known
that Cdc42 uses CTD as its downstream molecule to change the cell morphology, but their intracellular
signaling pathway remains unknown. Therefore, we want to figure out the involved signaling molecules and to
see whether those molecules would completely or partially revert the mutant back to the wild type shape. To
date, we have identified the key CTD kinase through the wild type and Cdc42 mutant yeast strain.
Additionally, we have transformed this critical CTD kinase into the yeast cell to see the change in cell
morphology and any other aspects.
Extracurricular Activities
Student Representative for Biology Faculty Recruitment | WKU 2021 – 2022
• Gave suggestions on biology faculty candidates from a student’s perspective
Teaching Assistant for Bio1000 (Principles of Biology) | WKU Aug. 2021 – Dec. 2021
• Lab preparation
• Experiment demonstration and instruction
Member of Project Department | WKU Youth Volunteer Sep. 2019 – May. 2020
• Wrote proposals to organize large events, including the Thanksgiving Day celebration and Blood Donation
