Peter Cheung 张栢恒
Assistant Professor 助理教授

ppcheung@cuhk.edu.hk


Biography

Academic History:
2009 - 2013 : Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
2005 - 2007 : Master of Science in Pathology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
2001 - 2005 : Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Life Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (first class honor)

Academic Employment History:
2021 - Present: Assistant Professor at Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong





2018 - 2021: Research Assistant Professor at Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
2016 - 2018: Research Assistant Professor at Division of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
2015 - 2016: Postdoctoral Fellow at Division of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
2013 - 2015: Research Associate at School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong

Prizes and Awards:
2019: Silver Award, HKUST - Sino One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition
2015: Finalist, Young Scientist Awards
2012: Graduate Student Travel Scholarship, Tech Dragon Limited
2010: Croucher-Butterfield Studentship, Croucher Foundation

Leading Grants and Projects:
1. RGC - General Research Fund
CHEUNG Pak Hang Peter (Lead)
2018 - Present

2. RGC - General Research Fund
CHEUNG Pak Hang Peter (Lead)
2019 - Present

Specialised Research Area(s):
My current interests lie in the gene transcription of RNA viruses, with emphasis on influenza and coronaviruses. RNA viruses encode their RNA polymerases to replicate the viral genome. The error-prone transcription process of RNA polymerases is the main driving force for viral genetic diversity essential for adaption to and infection of the host. However, the accuracy of virus transcription must be maintained at a certain threshold for faithful gene expression and protein production. I am interested in understanding the structural basis of how viral polymerases regulate transcription accuracy in RNA viruses and the biological consequences of transcriptional errors during infection by developing a novel genomics platform and using Cryogenic Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM). These fundamental insights are essential in the basic understanding of gene transcription and virus evolution and the biomedical research for the development of antiviral drugs and vaccines for infectious diseases.

Selected publications:

Au, W.Y. and Cheung, P.P.H.*. Diagnostic Performances of Common Nucleic Acid Tests for COVID-19 in Hospitals and Clinics: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, The Lancet Microbe, Accepted (Research Article). *denotes corresponding author.

Xu, X., Zhang, L.*, Chu, J.T.S., Wang, Y. Chin, A.W.H., Dai, Z., Poon, L.L.M., Cheung, P.P.H.*, Huang, X.*. A Novel Mechanism of Enhanced Transcription Activity and Fidelity for Influenza A Viral RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase, Nucleic Acid Research, Accepted (Research Article). *denotes corresponding author.

Wang, Y., Yuan, C., Xu, X., Chong, T.H., Zhang, L., Cheung P.P.H.*, Huang, X.*. The mechanism of action of T-705 as a unique delayed chain terminator on influenza viral polymerase transcription", Biophysical Chemistry, 277, 106652, (2021). *denotes corresponding author.

Zhang, L.*, Zhang, D., Yuan, C., Wang, X., Li, Y., Jia, X., Gao, X., Yen, H.L., Cheung, P.P.H.*, Huang, X.*, 1’-Ribose cyano substitution allows Remdesivir to effectively inhibit nucleotide addition and proofreading during SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA replication, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys, 23, 5852-5863 (2021) * denotes corresponding author.

Wang, Y.#, Chong, T.H.#, Unarta, I.C.#, Xu, X., Suarez, G.D., Wang, J., Lis, J.T., Huang, X., Cheung, P.P.H.*, EmPC-Seq: Accurate RNA-sequencing and Bioinformatics Platform to Map RNA Polymerases and Remove Background Error, Bio-Protocol, 11, 4 (2021) # denotes first author; * denotes corresponding author.

Cheung, P.P.H.#, Jiang, B.#, Booth, G.T., Chong, T.H., Unartar, I.C., Wang, Y., Suarez, G.D., Wang, J., Lis, J.T., Huang, X., Identifying Transcription Error-Enriched Genomic Loci Using Nuclear Run-On Circular-Sequencing Coupled with Background Error Modeling, Journal of Molecular Biology, 432(13), 3933-3949, (2020) # denotes first author

Tse, K.M.#, Xu, J.#, Xu, L., Sheong, F.K., Wang, S., Chow, H.Y., Gao, X., Li, X., Cheung, P.P.H.*, Wang, D.*, Zhang, Y.*, Huang, X*. Intrinsic cleavage of RNA polymerase II adopts a nucleobase-independent mechanism assisted by transcript phosphate, Nature Catalysis, 2, 228-235, (2019) # denotes first author; * denotes corresponding author.

Cheung, P.P., Rogozin, I.B., Choy, K.T. 1, Ng, H.Y., Peiris J.S.M., and Yen, H.L. Comparative mutational analyses of influenza A viruses. RNA, 21, 36, (2015)

Cheung, P.P., Watson, S.J., Choy, K.T., Fun Sia, S., Wong, D.D., Poon, L.L., Kellam, P., Guan, Y., Malik Peiris, J.S., and Yen, H.L. Generation and characterization of influenza A viruses with altered polymerase fidelity. Nature Communications, 5, 4794, (2014)

Cheung, P.P., Leung, Y.H., Chow, C.K., Ng, C.F., Tsang, C.L., Wu, Y.O., Ma, S.K., Sia, S.F., Guan, Y., and Peiris, J.S. Identifying the species-origin of faecal droppings used for avian influenza virus surveillance in wild-birds. Journal of Clinical Virology 46, 90-93, (2009)?

Wang, L., Chen, J., Zeng, X., Cheung, P.P.H., Zheng, X., Xie, L., Shi, X., Ren, L., Huang, X., Wang, Y. Mechanistic Insights and Rational Design of a Versatile Surface with Cells/Bacteria Recognition Capability via Orientated Fusion Peptides, Advanced Science, 6 (9), 1801827, (2019)

Lei, J., Sheng, G., Cheung, P.P.H., Wang, S., Li, Y., Gao, X., Zhang, Y., Wang, Y., Huang, X. Two symmetric arginine residues play distinct roles in Thermus thermophilus Argonaute DNA guide strand-mediated DNA target cleavage. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116 (3), 845-853, (2019)

Jiang, L., Cao, S., Cheung, P.P.H., Zheng, X., Leung, C.W.T., Peng, Q., Shuai, Z., Tang, B.Z., Yao, S., Huang, X., Real-Time Monitoring of Hydrophobic Aggregation Reveals a Critical Role of Cooperativity in Hydrophobic Effect, Nature Communications, 8, 15639, (2017)

Zhang, L., Pardo, F., Unarta, I.C., Cheung, P.P.H., Wang, G., Wang, D., and Huang, X. Elucidation of the Dynamics of Transcription Elongation by RNA Polymerase II using Kinetic Network Models, Accounts of Chemical Research, 49 (4), 687-694, (2016)