Kai Zhang

Biography

1982   B.S., Sichuan University, China 1984   M.S., Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. 1992   Ph.D., University of Oregon. 1985-1987  Research Assistant, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China with Professor Jia-huai Wang. 1992-1995  Postdoctoral Associate, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon with Professor Brian W. Matthews. 1995-2000  Assistant Member, Crystallography Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 2000-2009  Associate Member, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 2009-2010  Member, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 2010-present  Professor, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Honors： 2005-2009  S. Graham Smith Endowment Distinguished Scientist（Endowed Chair） 2010  supported by the “Thousand Talents Program” in China 1982   B.S., Sichuan University, China 1984   M.S., Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. 1992   Ph.D., University of Oregon. 1985-1987  Research Assistant, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China with Professor Jia-huai Wang. 1992-1995  Postdoctoral Associate, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon with Professor Brian W. Matthews. 1995-2000  Assistant Member, Crystallography Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 2000-2009  Associate Member, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 2009-2010  Member, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 2010-present  Professor, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Honors： 2005-2009  S. Graham Smith Endowment Distinguished Scientist（Endowed Chair） 2010  supported by the “Thousand Talents Program” in China

Research Interest

Dr. Zhang has been working in the field of protein crystallography since 1980s. In the Institute of Biophysics (IBP), CAS, he participated in the refinement of the crystal structure of trichosanthin, the second protein crystal structure determined by Chinese scientists. After getting his Ph.D. degree and doing postdoc research in the HHIM laboratory of Dr. Brian Matthews at University of Oregon, he became an independent principle investigator of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) in 1995. Research interests of his laboratory included proteases from the cardiovascular system and protein interactions in intracellular trafficking. In this period, his laboratory solved, among others, the crystal structures of streptokinase-plasmin complex and β-secretase both of which are of significant medical importance. In 2010, Dr. Zhang returned to IBP and opened his new research laboratory focusing on the molecular mechanisms of membrane proteins including transporters and signal-transduction proteins such as G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR). Since 2013, Zhang’s laboratory has solved several crystal structures of three secondary active transporters from the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) and reported crystal structures of two membrane biogenesis-related membrane-integral enzymes. Recently, Dr. Zhang is interested in the structural bases of common energy-coupling mechanisms of major families of membrane proteins, including transporters and GPCRs. His laboratory uses X-ray crystallography and EM techniques to determine three-dimensional structures of these membrane proteins, and uses functional analyses such as in vitro transport assay and smFRET to address questions such as how ligand binding as well as membrane environment affect conformations of membrane proteins. The goals of his laboratory are two folds, obtaining functional mechanisms as general as possible for transporters and GPCR proteins, meanwhile providing detailed, novel structural insights for biomedical applications such as design of new antibiotics.