Academic Leader:Professor Shi Chen: Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, National Distinguished Young Scholar, Chief Scientist of the Key Projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Leading Talent in Science and Technology Innovation for Young and Middle-aged by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Secondary Professor, and PhD Supervisor.
Core Team Members:Researchers: Chao Chen, Fang Wang, Zhibin Li
Center Overview:The Biomedical Research Center is led by a team of researchers headed by Professor Shi Chen, a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, National Distinguished Young Scholar, and Leading Talent in Science and Technology Innovation for Young and Middle-aged by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Professor Chen has hosted National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Distinguished Youth Fund projects, key international cooperation projects, and the Ministry of Science and Technology's Key Projects in Synthetic Biology (as Chief Scientist). He currently serves as the Director of the Shenzhen Translational Medicine Institute. The Biomedical Research Center has been approved to establish the Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Microbial Genome Editing and Application. The center focuses on microbiology and immunology research, dedicated to synthetic biology, genome editing and modification, pathogenic microorganisms' pathogenicity and drug resistance, and the development and application of vaccines, antimicrobial peptides, and antimicrobial materials.
Research Team:The Biomedical Research Center team includes talents from various disciplines such as biomedical sciences, molecular biology, microbiology, bioinformatics, biochemistry, pharmacology, immunology, and materials science, with expertise in their respective fields. The research team includes 5 professors/researchers, 9 postdoctoral fellows (with 1 postdoctoral alumnus), 5 research assistants, and doctoral and master's students. This team focuses on fundamental and applied microbiology, closely integrated with clinical research, and brings together multidisciplinary talents.
Postdoctoral Fellows:Wanying Wang, Yansheng Li, Jiade Zhu, Baocai Xie, Lixu Jiang, Haiyan Gao, Susu Jiang, Xiaoxia Song, Decai Yang (completed the program)
Research Assistants:Jing Ma, Yinyin Li, Jie Hou, Kadiriya, Hongda Ou
Research Directions:The main research directions of the Biomedical Research Center include:
Microbial Genome Editing:Genome editing and modification are core technologies in basic biological research and biotechnology applications, playing a crucial role in life health sciences and biomedical research. Microbial cell genomes include various modification and editing systems such as DNA methylation, CRISPR-Cas, DNA phosphorothioation, and Argonautes. These systems typically form part of the microbial cell's self-defense system, enhancing the host's resistance to foreign DNA and stabilizing its genetic material. DNA phosphorothioation is a sulfur-containing modification in the DNA backbone, widely present in various microorganisms, exhibiting sequence-specific, spatial conformation-specific, and diverse modification frequencies in different bacterial hosts. By deeply analyzing the molecular mechanisms of phosphorothioation and uncovering its physiological significance, the laboratory provides theoretical and application foundations for the biomedical application of microbial genome editing.
Pathogenic Microorganisms' Pathogenicity and Drug Resistance:Pathogenic fungi and bacteria, as important components of microorganisms, play critical roles in human health within their infected hosts. Investigating the pathogenic mechanisms and drug resistance of pathogenic bacteria and fungi, and analyzing the interactions between different pathogens and their hosts, can provide theoretical foundations and potential therapeutic targets for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Using multi-omics research methods combined with bioinformatics analysis, the laboratory deciphers the pathogenic mechanisms and drug resistance characteristics of common clinical pathogens. Establishing cell and animal models of pathogenic infections, the laboratory designs and develops safe and effective vaccines based on identified potential drug targets and develops new highly targeted and effective drugs combined with new biomedical materials, providing precise prevention and treatment solutions for clinical pathogen infections.
Synthetic Biology:Leveraging the paradigm of synthetic biology and core enabling technologies of multidisciplinary integration, the laboratory systematically explores and analyzes the diversity of restriction-modification systems within microbial genomes, elucidates the defense mechanisms against phage infection, and rationally designs and develops highly efficient engineered cells. By incorporating metabolic elements for efficient pollutant degradation and stress-resistance and environmental adaptation elements, the laboratory uses cutting-edge technology to precisely edit the genomes of chassis cells. The result is the creation of synthetic biology chassis cells with multiple phage resistance, broad pollutant metabolism spectra, strong metabolic performance, and environmental adaptability. These chassis cells are comprehensively evaluated using epigenomics, genomics, metabolomics, and other multi-omics methods, ensuring their safe and effective application in water pollution remediation and pathogen control.
Vaccine and Antimicrobial Material Development and Application:The increasing problem of antibiotic resistance poses severe challenges to the clinical treatment of infectious diseases. By identifying gene elements with antimicrobial activity against pathogens and isolating environmentally adaptable microbial chassis cells, the laboratory constructs highly effective biological materials targeting and eliminating specific pathogens, using phage therapy and bactericidal elements as a foundation. Coupled with nano drug delivery systems, this approach ensures the effective elimination of pathogens. Simultaneously, vaccines are an effective method to address the growing issue of microbial resistance, also recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The laboratory develops mRNA vaccines targeting pathogens to control infections at the source and reduce their prevalence.
