Dr.ZHENG Chaogu

Assistant Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, HKU

BSc(USTC); MSc(IBP, CAS); PhD(Columbia)

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2299 0349
2559 9114
KBSB 4S13

Research Interests

Neuronal cell fate determination and subtype differentiation
The mechanisms of synaptogenesis and neural circuit assembly
Neurite growth and axon regeneration
Regulation of microtubule dynamics
Modeling of neurodegenerative diseases
Genomic change in the evolution of neuronal diversity
Development of new tools in genetic engineering

Current Research

The effects of tubulin posttranslational modification on neurite growth and regeneration of the touch receptor neurons in C. elegans
Regulation of neurite development by ubiquitination, HSP90 chaperone, and alternative mRNA splicing.
Regulation of terminal differentiation by Hox genes
Modeling of neurodegenerative diseases using C. elegans neurons
Comparative genomics of nerve system evolution among nematodes

Research Team

Dr. Chenyin Wang, postdoctoral research fellow
Dr. Fuqiang Ma, postdoctoral research fellow
Ms. Wing Yan Leung, Final year project student

Fellowships

Columbia University

Publications and News

Zheng, C., Jin, F.Q., Trippe, B.L., Wu, J., and Chalfie, M.Inhibition of cell fate repressors secures the differentiation of the touch receptor neurons ofCaenorhabditiselegans.Development.(in press)
Shi, L.#,Zheng, C.#, Shen, Y., Chen, Z., Silveira, E.S., Zhang, L., Liu, C., De Sena-Tomas, C., Targoff, K., and Min, W.Optical Imaging of Metabolic Dynamics in Animals.Nat Commun.2018 Aug 6;9(1):2995. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-05401-3.(# co-first author)
Zheng, C., Diaz-Cuadros, M., Jao, S.L., Nguyen, K.C., Hall, D.H., and Chalfie, M.Distinct effects of tubulin isotype mutations on neurite growth inCaenorhabditis elegans.Mol Biol Cell. 2017 Oct 15;28(21):2786-2801 (Highlights fromMBoCSelection)
Zheng, C., Diaz-Cuadros, M., and Chalfie, M.GEFs and Rac GTPases control directional specificity of neurite extension along the anterior-posterior axis.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Jun 21;113(25):6973-8.
Zheng, C. Chalfie, M.Securing Neuronal Cell Fate inC. elegans.Curr Top Dev Biol. 2016;116:167-80 (Invited review)
Zheng, C., Diaz-Cuadros, M., Chalfie, M.Hox Genes Promote Neuronal Subtype Diversification through Posterior Induction inCaenorhabditis elegans.Neuron. 2015 Nov 4;88(3):514-27. (Previewed by Philippidou and Dasen)
Zheng, C., Jin, F.Q., Chalfie, M.Hox Proteins Act as Transcriptional Guarantors to Ensure Terminal Differentiation.Cell Rep. 2015 Nov 17;13(7):1343-52. (Recommended to F1000 prime)
Zheng, C., Diaz-Cuadros, M., Chalfie, M.Dishevelled attenuates the repelling activity of Wnt signaling during neurite outgrowth inCaenorhabditis elegans.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
Zheng, C., Karimzadegan, S., Chiang, V., Chalfie, M.Histone methylation restrains the expression of subtype-specific genes during terminal neuronal differentiation inCaenorhabditis elegans.PLoS Genet. 2013 Dec;9(12):e**

Awards and Honours

2016 Peter Sajovic Memorial Prize, Columbia University
2015 Kavli Award for Distinguished Research in Neuroscience, Columbia University