Prof. Yong ZHAO is a professor in Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology. He used to be the Deputy Director, the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Director of the National Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology; Director of the Department of Immunology, Cunji Medical College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Vice Chairman of Transplantation Immunology Committee, Chinese Society for Immunology. Editor of Exp Rev of Clin Immunol, Cell and Molecular Immunology. Received the National "Outstanding Youth Fund". He had published more than 200 SCI articles, including Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, JEM, Blood, Journal of Immunology, and American Journal of Transplantation. Published two book "Xenotransplantation Immunology" and "Transplant Immune Tolerance" as Editor-in-chief.

Professor Zhao's research integrates multi-omics, computational biology, immunology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and synthetic biology to develop immune tolerance-inducing therapies and novel biologics for clinical applications. His work focuses on transplantation, autoimmune diseases, and cancer, aiming to create new immune cell-based and bioengineered drugs.

Education Background

September 1990-July 1993: Ph.D. in Biology, Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences

September 1987-July 1990: Master's Degree in Radiomedicine, Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences

September 1982-July 1987: Bachelor's Degree in Radiomedicine, Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences

Professional Experience

October 2022-Present: Chair Professor, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology

April 2003-October 2022: Professor, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

May 2000-April 2004: Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA

July 1995-August 2000: Postdoctoral research associate, Bone Marrow Transplantation Section, Transplantation Biology Research Center, Surgical Service, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

July 1993-September 1995: Postdoctoral researcher at Project Research Center, Mitsubishi Kasei Institute of Life Sciences, Tokyo, Japan

He is among the Global Top 2% Scientists list. Currently serves as a council member of the Chinese Society for Immunology, and Deputy Chairman of the Transplant Immunology Committee of the Chinese Society for Immunology. Editorial board member of journals such asExpert Review of Clinical Immunology and Cellular & Molecular Immunology.

Awards and Honors

2024: First Prize of the Science and Technology Award from the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine

2023: Tier-A Distinguished Talent, Pengcheng Peacock Plan

2021: Elsevier Highly Cited Chinese Researcher (Basic Medicine)

2017: Director, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology

2009: National Talents Program

2005: National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars

2003: CAS "Hundred Talents Program"

Technology Transfers:

1. Medical Application of Wip1 Inhibitors, 2016 (Authorized in 2020)

2. Car-T cells and their application to treat hypersensitive diseases (pending 2025)

Major Research Projects:

As Chief Scientist, led multiple high-profile research projects, including the National Key Research and Development Program, Key Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, and Special Projects of the Shenzhen Medical Research Fund, driving advancements in synthetic biology and biomedical research.

Representative Publications:

1.Zhang ZQ, Zhao CX, Sun LY, Lei T, Xu JL, Wang GY*, Zhao Y*. FAM234A acts as a switch for Th17 versus Treg cell fate decision that controls inflammatory bowel disease. Cell and Mol Immunol. 2026. (accepted)

2.Chen YF#, Zhang Q #, Li N#, Zhang ZQ#, Lei T, Guo H, Lu HZ*, Zhao Y*. IL-33/TGF-β/IL-4-induced DC9 subset promotes Th9 differentiation and allergic airway inflammation. Cell Reports. 2026; 45(6): 117519. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117519.

3.Su YH†, Jiao AJ†, Zhang XR †, Xu YN †, Ping HX, Zhu K, Wang QH, Yuan N, Gao Y, Ju BM, Ding RY, Wang N, He L, Lei L *, Zhao Y*, Zhang MZ*, Zhang BJ*. Helicase A determines the transcription program of Th17 lineage differentiation and Autoimmunity. Science Advances, 2026, 12(20). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aeb9679.

4.Zhao Y, Wang XQ, Lei T, Lu HZ* Zhao Y*. Exploiting the chemokine-chemokine receptor axis: Emerging immunotherapeutic paradigms for solid tumor microenvironment reprogramming. Chinese Medical Journal. 2026, 139(8): 1125-1148.

5.Wang YJ; Yang LJ, Li MY, Hao J, Sun XY, Dong ZJ, Lin L, Hou BD, Zhang Y, Zhao Y, Xu CR, Zhou XY, Jin R, Ge Q. Proenkephalin produced by neonatal T-bet+ Treg cells promotes periportal hepatocyte maturation. Hepatology. 2026, 83(3): 513-529.

6.Ding PB, Lu J, Lei T, Guo YN, Zhu BaL, Zhao Y, Wang Y, Engelstädter J, Schembri Mark A. & Guo JH. Antidepressant drugs promote the spread of broad-host-range plasmid in mouse and human gut microbiota. Gut Microbes. 2025 17(1), 2514138. https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2025.2514138.

7.Zhang ZQ #, Xu YN#, Pang K#, Wu CH, Zhao CX, Lei T, Zhang JY, Hai T *, Zhao FQ*, Zhao Y*. Microbiota humanization drives human-like metabolic and immune transcriptomic shifts in pigs. iMetaOmics. 2025. 2(3): e70034.

8.Guo H#, Zhao Y#, Zhang ZQ#, Xu YN, Chen YF, Lei T, Zhao Y*. The presence and pathogenic roles of M(IL-33+IL-2) macrophages in allergic airway inflammation. Allergy. 2025. 80(5): 1298-1308. doi: 10.1111/all.16430.

9.Liu J, Wang MR, and Zhao Y*. The regulatory network of transcription factors in macrophage polarization. ImmunoTargets and Therapy. 2025; 14: 555-575. doi: 10.2147/ITT.S494550.

10.Wei YP, Zu WH, Yang JZ, Wang MR, Zhao Y*. Progression in the in vitro macrophage expansion. Journal of Immunology Research. 2025: 9994439. doi: 10.1155/jimr/9994439.

11.Wei YP, Zhao Y*. De novo thymus reconstitution: the rising of cell-based strategies. International Journal of Immunology. 2025; 13(1): 9-22.

12.Yang H, Ding ZX, An ZL, Zhao Y* & Lu HZ*. Immune checkpoint inhibitor related myositis: an observational, retrospective, pharmacovigilance study. Expert Opinion on Drug Safety. 2025. 24 (12): 1415–1420

13.Li JY; Zeng GD; Zhang ZZ; Wang YL; Shao MY; Li CJ; Lu ZB; Zhao Y*; Zhang F*, Ding WJ*. Urban airborne PM2.5 induces pulmonary fibrosis through triggering glycolysis and subsequent modification of histone lactylation in macrophages. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2024. 273(229): 116162. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116162.

14.Hou YX*, Wei D*, Zhang ZQ*, Lei T*, Li SH, Bao JM, Guo H, Tan L, Xie XB, Zhuang Y, Lu ZB#, Zhao Y#. Downregulation of nutrition sensor GCN2 in macrophages contributes to poor wound healing in diabetes. Cell Reports. 2024; 4(1): 113658.

15.Zhang ZQ*, Zhao CX*, Sun LY*, Cheng C, Tian QC, Wu CH, Xu YN, Dong X, Zhang BJ#, Zhang LF#, Zhao Y#. Trappc1 intrinsically prevents ferroptosis of naive T cells to avoid spontaneous autoimmune disorder in mice. European Journal of Immunology. 2024. 54(3). 2350836. doi: 10.1002/eji.202350836.

16.Li J*, Xu YN*, Zhang JY*, Zhang ZQ*, Guo H, Wei D, Wu CH, Hai T#, Sun HX#, Zhao Y#. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis reveals transcriptional and cell subpopulation differences between human and pig immune cells. Genes and Genomics. 2024; 46(3): 303-322.

17.Yang H, An ZL, Zhao Y, Lu HZ*. Tacrolimus related acute pancreatitis: An observational, retrospective, pharmacovigilance study. Clinical Therapeutics. 2024. 46(9988). DOI: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2024.04.005

18.Wu CH*, Xu JL*, Zhang ZQ, Wei D, Xu YN, Zhao Y#. The effects of IL-23/IL-18-polarized neutrophils on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury and allogeneic skin graft rejection in mice. Biomedicines. 2023; 11, 3148. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11123148.

19.Zhao Y*, Zhao CX*, Guo H*, Zhang ZQ*, Xu HW, Sh MP, Xu YN, Wei D, Zhao Y#. mTORC2 orchestrates monocytic and granulocytic lineage commitment by an ATF5-mediated pathway. iScience. 2023; 26(9): 107540. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107540.

20.Chen YF*, Zhao CX*, Zou WL*, Zhang ZQ, Guo H, Lu HZ#, Zhang LF#, Zhao Y#. Wip1 inhibits neutrophil extracellular traps to promote abscess formation in mice by directly dephosphorylating Coronin-1a. Cell Mol Immunol. 2023; 20: 941-954.

21.Zhao CX*, Guo H*, Hou YX, Lei T, Wei D, and Zhao Y#. Multiple roles of the stress sensor GCN2 in immune cells. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023; 24(5): 4285. doi: 10.3390/ijms24054285.

22.Cao LY, Ma LX, Zhao J, Wang XY, Fang XZ, Li W, Qi YW, Tang YK, Liu JY, Peng S, Yang L, Zhou L, Li L, Hu X, Ji Y, Hou Y, Zhao Y, Zhang X, Zhao Y, Zhao Y, Wei YQ, Malik AB, Saiyin He*, Xu JS*. An unexpected role of neutrophils in clearing apoptotic hepatocytes in vivo. eLife. 2023; 12: RP86591. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.86591.

23.Lei T#, Zhang JY#, Zhang Qian#, Ma XR, Xu YN, Zhao Y, Zhang LF*, Lu ZB*, Zhao Y*. Defining newly formed and tissue-resident bone marrow-derived macrophages in adult mice based on lysozyme expression. Cell Mol Immunol. 2022; 19, 1333–1346.

24.Xu YN#, Zhang ZQ#, Zhao Y#, Zhao CX, Shi MP, Dong X, Zhang JY, Tan L, Zhang LF*, Zhao Y*. TRAPPC1 is essential for the maintenance and differentiation of common myeloid progenitors in mice. EMBO Reports. 2022; e55503. https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.202255503

25.Tian Q*, Zhang Z*, Tan L*, Yang F*, Xu Y, Guo Y, Wei D, Wu C, Cao P, Ji J, Wang W#, Xie X#, Zhao Y#. Skin and heart allo-graft rejection solely by long-lived alloreactive TRM cells in skin of severe combined immunodeficient mice. Science Advances. 2022; 8(4): eabk0270. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abk0270

26.Hou YX*, Wei D*, Bossila E*, Zhang ZQ*, Li SH, Bao JM, Xu HW, Zhang LF#, Zhao Y#. FABP5 deficiency impaired macrophage inflammation by regulating AMPK-NF-κB signaling pathway. J of Immunology. 2022; 209: 2181-2191.

27.Hou YX*, Wei D*, Zhang ZQ*, Guo H, Li SH, Zhang JY, Zhang P, Zhang LF#, Zhao Y#. FABP5 controls macrophage alternative activation and allergic asthma by selectively programming long-chain unsaturated fatty acid metabolism. Cell Reports. 2022; 41, 111668.