Academic Lecture, Mar. 22

Title: Chemical Biology and Protein Tyrosine Dephosphorylation
Lecturer: Zhong-Yin Zhang, Robert A. Harris Professor and Chairman Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Indiana University School of Medicine
Host: Profesor Yan Guangmei, SYSU Vice President
Time: at 10:00 am., on March 22, 2007
Venue: Liangqiuju Hall, North Campus

Lecturer's Profile: Zhong-Yin Zhang received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Nankai University, China, in 1984. He went to Purdue University for graduate school and earned a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry in 1990. After a brief stint at the Upjohn Company, he completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Michigan. In 1994 he became an Assistant Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Biochemistry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he rose to the rank of Professor in 2002. He joined the faculty of Indiana University School of Medicine in 2005, where he is Robert A. Harris Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Among his awards and honors, Professor Zhang is the recipient of a Chemistry Graduate Program (CGP) Fellow (1985), a Sinsheimer Scholar (1997) and an Irma T. Hirschl Career Scientist (1999). Professor Zhang’s research spans the disciplines of chemistry and biology with an emphasis on chemical approaches to protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation; mechanistic enzymology; molecular recognition; and inhibitor design. Professor Zhang has employed a multidisciplinary approach to investigate protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTP) substrate recognition, regulation, and reaction mechanism. Professor Zhang has also established a unique academic chemical genomic program to carry out high-throughput screening, combinatory chemistry, and biological evaluation. He is developing small molecule PTP probes that not only serve as powerful tools to elucidate signaling mechanisms but also find use for therapeutic development. He has authored more than 136 publications, and he is an internationally recognized authority in the field of PTPs.