Zhongtao

Outstanding Young Scientist of China.

Chief Scientist of the National 973 Program Project.

One thousand people planning experts (Shanghai).

Science and China "Person of the year" (2014).

ShiLi qing outstanding graduates of School of medicine, Fudan university.

Our long-term goal is to elucidate cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating cardiovascular development and organ morphogenesis. The complex and dynamic nature of cardiovasuclar system makes it challenging but also intellectually fascinating object of study. Dysregulation in development and growth is the hallmark of human cardiovascular diseases. We are studying heart and blood vessel in zebrafish, mouse and human stem cells, an experimental system that affords a powerful combination of genetic analyses with molecular ,embryological and chemical approach. We hope that delineation of fundamental logics and mechanisms in heart development and regeneration as well as discovery of bioactive small molecules not only help to identify etiologies of human cardiovascular diseases but may also aid in designing novel therapeutics for cell regeration and tissue self-repair.

1) Jin D, Ni TT, Sun J, Wan H, Amack JD, Yu G, Fleming J, Chiang C, Li W, Papierniak A, Cheepala S, Conseil G, Cole SP, Zhou B, Drummond IA, Schuetz JD, Malicki J, Zhong TP. 2014. Prostaglandin signaling regulates ciliogenesis and heart development by modulating intraflagellar transport. Nature Cell Biology 16 (9): 841-51 (Cover Article)

2) Tian X, Hu T, Zhang H, He L, Huang X, Liu Q, Yu W, He L, Yang Z, Yan Y, Yang X, Zhong TP, Pu WT, Zhou B. 2014. De Novo formation of a distinct coronary vascular population in neonatal heart. Science 345(6192): 90-4.

3) Ni TT, Rellinger E, Williams C, Stephens L, Hu JY, Kim K, Marnett L, Heaton W, Hatzopoulos A, Zhong TP. 2011. Discovering small molecules that promote cardiomyocyte generation via modulating Wnt signaling.Chemistry & Biology 18:1658-68 (Cell Press)

4) Jia H, King I, Chopra S, Wan H, Ni T, Jiang C, Guan X, Well S, Srivastava D, Zhong TP. 2007. Vertebrate heart growth is regulated by functional antagonism between Gridlock and Gata5. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104, 14008-14013.

5) Peterson R, Shaw SY, Peterson TA, Milan DJ, Zhong Tao P, Schreiber S, MacRae C and Fishman, MC. 2004. Chemical suppression of a genetic mutation in a zebrafish model of aortic coarctation. Nature Biotechnology22, 593-599.

6) Zhong TP, Childes S, Leu J, Fishman MC. 2001. The Gridlock signaling pathway fashions the first embryonic artery. Nature 414, 216-220.

7) Zhong TP, Rosenberg M, Mohideen M, Weinstein B, Fishman MC. 2000. Gridlock, an HLH gene required for assembly of the aorta in zebrafish. Science 287, 1820-1824.

8) Zhong TP and Arndt K. 1993. Yeast SIS1 protein, a DnaJ homologue, is required for the Initiation of translation. Cell73,1175-1186.