Research

The goal of the Zhang laboratory is to elucidate the mechanisms and therapeutic implications of macrophage heterogeneity and plasticity in cardiometabolic diseases.

Dr. Zhang’s laboratory seeks to understand the dynamic role of macrophages in cardiometabolic diseases with the aim of finding novel mechanisms and new treatments. The laboratory applies technologies for high-throughput functional genomics, human iPSC and CRISPR gene editing, transgenic mouse models, human genetics, and a variety of cell and molecular techniques.

The main areas of research in the laboratory include:

• Functional genomics and mechanistic studies of candidate genes and genetic variants inspired by human genome-wide association studies of cardiometabolic traits. R00-HL-130574

• Unbiased CRISPR screening to discover novel regulators of macrophage function, in particular macrophage efferocytosis, and investigate their roles in homeostasis and diseases, including atherosclerosis. R01-HL-151611

• Disease modeling and functional genomic studies in human iPSC-derived macrophages.
  Current Protocols in Stem Cell Biology 2019, JAHA 2017, ATVB 2017 Nov., ATVB 2017 Sep., ATVB 2016, Circulation Research 2015.