Profile

Dr. Zhenfeng Zhang received his Ph.D. at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and postdoc training at Heidelberg University in Germany. He started his lab at the Southern University of Science and Technology in 2022. The research in his lab focuses on hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV), innate immunity, and antiviral treatment strategies. He is also interested in emerging viruses, personalized antiviral immunity, and precision antiviral therapy. Dr. Zhang has led and participated in many projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the German Research Foundation (DFG), etc. Dr. Zhang has published >30 peer-reviewed manuscripts in high-quality journals, including the Journal of Hepatology, Journal of Immunology, Viruses, etc. His research has been selected for oral presentations and awarded by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL),  the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the International HBV Meeting, etc. Dr. Zhang serves as a guest editor for Viruses, a peer reviewer for the Journal of Hepatology, Antiviral research, Viruses, Liver International, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, etc.

The lab is recruiting postdocs, research assistants, and master/doctorate students. Potential applicants are welcome to contact us.

Research topics

 1. The mechanism of HBV and HDV persistent infection, novel infection models for HBV and HDV

 2. Novel therapeutic strategies for HBV and HDV (nucleic acid antivirals, novel therapeutic vaccines, liver-targeting therapies, etc.)

 3. Innate immunity and its application in antiviral therapy

 4. Personalized antiviral immunity and precision antiviral therapy

Working experience

 2022.10-present: Assistant Professor, School of Public Health and Emergency Management, Southern University of Science and Technology

 2015.09-2022.09: Postdoc, Center for Integrative Infectious Disease Research, Heidelberg University, Germany. Mentors: Prof. Stephan Urban and Prof. Ralf Bartenschlager

 2012.09-2015.08: Research Associate, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Mentor: Prof. Hanzhong Wang 

Education

2004.09-2012.07: Ph.D., Microbiology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

2000.09-2004.07: Bachelor, Biotechnology, Xinjiang University 

Grants

[1]   National Natural Science Foundation of China, Investigation into the intracellular persistent replication of hepatitis D virus and the antiviral mechanism of interferons. 2024-2027. (chief investigator)

[2]   National Natural Science Foundation of China, Comparative epidemiological and molecular virology of hepatitis D in China and Mongolia and the mechanism of HDV accelerated liver disease progression. 2024-2026. (co-investigator)

[3]   German Research Foundation (DFG), Transregional Collaborative Research Centre (TRR) 179: Determinants and dynamics of elimination versus persistence of hepatitis virus infection. 2nd round, 2020-2024. (co-investigator)

[4]   German Research Foundation (DFG), Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1129: Integrative analysis of pathogen replication and spread. 2nd round, 2018-2022. (co-investigator)

[5]   German Research Foundation (DFG), Transregional Collaborative Research Centre (TRR) 179: Determinants and dynamics of elimination versus persistence of hepatitis virus infection. 1st round, 2016-2020. (co-investigator)

[6]   German Research Foundation (DFG), Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1129: Integrative analysis of pathogen replication and spread. 1st round, 2014-2018. (co-investigator)

[7]   National Natural Science Foundation of China, The role and mechanism of interferon-stimulated protein Viperin in EV71 neural tissue infection. 2015-2018. (co-investigator)

[8]   National Natural Science Foundation of China, Mechanism for the inhibition of Type I interferon production by human bocavirus and NS1. 2014-2016. (chief investigator) 

Awards and honors

[1]   Free registration bursary, International HBV Meeting. 2022.

[2]   Young investigator bursary, International Liver Congress, European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). 2021.

[3]   Early career investigator award, The Liver Meeting, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). 2019.

[4]   Travel grant, International HBV Meeting. 2019.

[5]   Best oral presentation award, International HBV Meeting. 2019.

[6]   Travel grant, International HBV Meeting. 2018.

[7]   Travel grant, International HBV Meeting. 2016.

[8]   Natural science award for outstanding academic publications, Wuhan, China. 2013. 

Academia positions

[1]   2023-2024, guest editor of Viruses journal

[2]   Member of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). Since 2019.

[3]   Participating in the organization of the German Association of the Study of the Liver (GASL) Annual Meeting. 2019

[4]   Independent peer-reviewer for the Journal of Hepatology, Antiviral research, Viruses, Liver International, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, etc. 

Publications

[1]       Groth C, Maric J, Lázaro I-G, Hofman T, Zhang Z, Ni Y, Keller F, Seufert I, Hofmann M, Neumann-Haefelin C, Sticht C, Rippe K, Urban S, Cerwenka A. Hepatitis D infection induces IFN-β-mediated NK cell activation and TRAIL-dependent cytotoxicity. Front Immunol. 2023 Dec 8:14:1287367.

[2]       Gillich N#, Zhang Z#, Binder M, Urban S, Bartenschlager R. Determinants in LGP2 required for activation of the interferon response and suppression of hepatitis D virus replication. Journal of Hepatology. 2023; 78(1):78-89. (#, co-first author)

[3]       Zhang Z. Detection methods for hepatitis D antibodies: A comparative analysis. Journal of Clinical Hepatology. 2023, 39(4) 751-757.

[4]       Zhang Z, Ni Y, Lempp F.A, Walter L, Mutz P, Bartenschlage R, Urban S. Hepatitis D virus-induced interferon response and administered interferons control cell division-mediated virus spread. Journal of Hepatology. 2022; 77(4):957-966.

[5]       Zhang Z, Urban S. New insights into hepatitis D virus persistence: the role of interferon response and implications for upcoming novel therapies. Journal of Hepatology. 2021; 74(3):686-699.

[6]       Zhang Z, Zhuang H. Research progress on laboratory diagnosis of hepatitis D. Chinese Journal of Viral Diseases. 2021; 11(6):407-415., 2021; 11(6):407-413.

[7]       Wang W, Lempp FA, Schlund F, Walter L, Decker CC, Zhang Z, Ni Y, Urban S. Assembly and infection efficacy of hepatitis B virus surface protein exchanges in 8 hepatitis D virus genotype isolates. Journal of Hepatology. 2021; 75(2):311-323.

[8]       Zhang Z, Urban S. Interplay between Hepatitis D Virus and the Interferon Response. Viruses. 2020; 12(11): 1334.

[9]       Ni Y, Zhang Z, Engelskircher L, Verch G, Tu T, Lempp FA, Urban S. Generation and characterization of a stable cell line persistently replicating and secreting the human hepatitis delta virus. Scientific Reports. 2019; volume 9, Article number: 10021.

[10]    Lempp FA, Schlund F, Rieble L, Nussbaum L, Link C, Zhang Z, Ni Y, Stephan Urban. Recapitulation of HDV infection in a fully permissive hepatoma cell line allows efficient drug evaluation. Nature Communications. 2019; 10:2265.

[11]    Zhang Z, Filzmayer C, Ni Y, Mutz P, Sültmann H, Hiet M-S, Vondran F W.R., Bartenschlager R, Urban S. Hepatitis D Virus replication is sensed by MDA5 and induces IFN-β/λ responses in hepatocytes. Journal of Hepatology. 2018; 69(1):25-35.

[12]    Zhang Z, Zehnder B, Damrau C, Urban S. Visualization of hepatitis B virus entry - novel tools and approaches to directly follow virus entry into hepatocytes. FEBS Letters. 2016; 590(13):1915-26.

[13]    Lv C, Lin Y, Liu A, Hong Z, Wen L, Zhang Z, Zhang ZL, Wang H, Pang D. Labeling viral envelope lipids with quantum dots by harnessing the biotinylated lipid-self-inserted cellular membrane. Biomaterials. 2016; 106:69-77.

[14]    Liu Q, Zhang Z, Zheng Z, Zheng C, Liu Y, Hu Q, Ke X, Wang H. Human Bocavirus NS1 and NS1-70 Proteins Inhibit TNF-α-Mediated Activation of NF-κB by targeting p65. Scientific Reports. 2016; 6:28481.

[15]    Li Q, Zheng Z, Liu Y, Zhang Z, Liu Q, Meng J, Ke X, Hu Q, Wang H. 2C Proteins of Enteroviruses Suppress IKKβ Phosphorylation by Recruiting Protein Phosphatase 1. Journal of Virology. 2016; 90(10): 5141-51.

[16]    Liu A, Zhang Z, Sun E, Zheng Z, Zhang ZL, Hu Q, Wang H, Pang D. Simultaneous Visualization of Parental and Progeny Viruses by a Capsid-Specific HaloTag Labeling Strategy. ACS Nano. 2016; 10(1):1147-55.

[17]    Zheng C, Zheng Z, Zhang Z, Meng J, Liu Y, Ke X, Hu Q, Wang H. IFIT5 positively regulates NF-κB signaling through synergizing the recruitment of IκB kinase (IKK) to TGF-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1). Cellular Signalling. 2015; 27 (12):2343-54.

[18]    Zhang M, Liu Y, Wang P, Guan X, He S, Luo S, Li C, Hu K, Jin W, Du T, Yan Y, Zhang Z, Zheng Z, Wang H, Hu Q. HSV-2 Immediate-Early Protein US1 Inhibits IFN-β Production by Suppressing Association of IRF-3 with IFN-β Promoter. Journal of Immunology. 2015; 194(7):3102-15.

[19]    Xu N, Wang J, Zhang Z, Pang DW, Wang H, Zhang ZL. Anisotropic cell-to-cell spread of vaccinia virus on microgrooved substrate. Biomaterials. 2014; 35(19):5049-55.

[20]    Zhang X, Shu B, Liu X, Zhang Z, Liu Y, Bai B, Hu Q, Mao P, Wang H. Human Astrocytic Cells Support Persistent Coxsackievirus B3 Infection. Journal of Virology. 2013; 87(22):12407-21.

[21]    Zhang F, Zheng Z, Liu SL, Lu W, Zhang Z, Zhang C, Zhou P, Zhang Y, Long G, He Z, Pang DW, Hu Q, Wang H. Self-biotinylation and site-specific double labeling of baculovirus using quantum dots for single-virus in-situ tracking. Biomaterials. 2013; 34(30):7506-18.

[22]    Luo H, Zheng Z, Ke X, Zhang X, Li Q, Liu Y, Bai B, Mao P, Hu Q, Wang H. Human Bocavirus VP2 Upregulates IFN-β Pathway by Inhibiting Ring Finger Protein 125-Mediated Ubiquitination of Retinoic Acid-Inducible Gene-I. Journal of Immunology. 2013; 191(2):660-9.

[23]    Zheng Z, Ke X, Wang M, He S, Li Q, Zheng C, Zhang Z, Liu Y, Wang H. Human microRNA hsa-miR-296-5p suppresses enterovirus 71 replication by targeting the viral genome. Journal of Virology. 2013; 87(10):5645-56. (IF: 6.549)

[24]    Zhang Y, Ke X, Zheng Z, Zhang C, Zhang Z, Zhang F, Hu Q, He Z, Wang H. Encapsulating quantum dots into enveloped virus in living cells for tracking virus infection. ACS Nano. 2013; 7(5):3896-904.

[25]    Li Q, Zhang Z, Zheng Z, Ke X, Luo H, Hu Q, Wang H. Identification and Characterization of Complex Dual Nuclear Localization Signals in Human Bocavirus NP1. Journal of General Virology. 2013; 94 (Pt 6): 1335-42.

[26]    Zhang Z, Zheng Z, Luo H, Meng J, Li H, Li Q, Zhang X, Ke X, Bai B, Mao P, Hu Q, Wang H. Human Bocavirus NP1 Inhibits IFN-β Production by Blocking Association of IFN Regulatory Factor 3 to IFNB Promoter. Journal of Immunology. 2012; 189(3):1144-53.

[27]    Jin M, Zhang Z, Zheng Z, Liu Y, Wang H. Methionine-101 from one strain of H5N1 NS1 protein determines its IFN-antagonizing ability and subcellular distribution pattern. Science China-Life Sciences. 2012; 55(11):933-9.

[28]    Li Y, Kang QS, Sun GP, Su LJ, Zheng Z, Zhang Z, Wang H, He Z, Huang W. Microchip-based immunoassays with application of silicon dioxide nanoparticle film. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 2012; 403(8):2449-57.

[29]    Xu N, Zhang  Z, Wang L, Gao B, Pang D, Wang H, Zhang ZL. A microfluidic platform for real-time and in situ monitoring of virus infection process. Biomicrofluidics. 6, 034122 (2012).

[30]    Tao L, Chen J, Zheng Z, Meng J, Zhang Z, Chen Y, Luo H, Li H, Chen Z, Hu Q, Wang H. H5N1 influenza virus-like particles produced by transient expression in mammalian cells induce humoral and cellular immune responses in mice. Canadian Journal of Microbiology. 2012; 58(4):391-401.

[31]    Huang B, Lin Yi, Zhang ZL, Zhuan F, Liu A, Xie M, Tian Z, Zhang Z, Wang H, Pang D. Surface labeling of enveloped viruses assisted by host cells. ACS Chemical Biology. 2012; 7(4):683-8.

[32]    Zhou P, Zheng Z, Lu W, Zhang F, Zhang Z, Pang D, Hu B, He Z, Wang H. Multicolor labeling of living-virus particles in live cells. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 2012; 51(3):670-4.

[33]    Zheng Z, Li H, Zhang Z, Meng J, Mao D, Bai B, Lu B, Mao P, Hu Q, Wang H. Enterovirus 71 2C protein inhibits TNF-α-mediated activation of NF-κB by suppressing IκB kinase β phosphorylation. Journal of Immunology. 2011; 187(5):2202-12.

[34]    Hu H, Lu X, Tao L, Bai B, Zhang Z, Chen Y, Zheng F, Chen J, Chen Z, Wang H. Induction of specific immune responses by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus spike DNA vaccine with or without interleukin-2 immunization using different vaccination routes in mice. Clinical and Vaccine Immunology. 2007; 14(7):894-901.

[35]    Zhuan F, Zhang Z, Xu D, Si Y, Wang H, Mijit G. Tn7-mediated introduction of DNA into bacmid-cloned pseudorabies virus genome for rapid construction of recombinant viruses. Virologica Sinica. 2007; 22:316-325. 

International conference presentations

[1]   Zhang Z, Walter L, Urban S. Generation of a fluorescent HDV reporter replicon using the split GFP system. 2022 International HBV Meeting (Paris, France). Oral presentation.

[2]   Gillich N#, Zhang Z#, Binder M, Urban S, Bartenschlager R. Role of LGP2 in activation of the interferon response and suppression of HDV replication. 2021 International HBV Meeting (Toronto, Canada). Oral presentation. (#, co-first author)

[3]   Zhang Z, Walther T, Lempp FA,  Ni Y, Urban S. IFN response blocks cell division-mediated HDV spread and suppresses HDV persistence synergistically with antivirals targeting de novo infection. 2021 EASL / International Liver Congress. Oral presentation.

[4]   Zhang Z, Walther T, Lempp FA,  Ni Y, Urban S. Synergistic suppression of HDV persistence in vitro by co-treatment with investigational drugs targeting both extracellular and cell-division-mediated spreading pathways. 2019 Liver Meeting - AASLD (Boston, USA). Oral presentation.

[5]   Zhang Z, Walther T, Lempp FA,  Ni Y, Urban S. Synergistic suppression of HDV persistence in vitro by co-treatment with investigational drugs targeting both extracellular and cell-division-mediated spreading pathways. 2019 International HBV Meeting (Melbourne, Australia). Oral presentation.

[6]   Zhang Z, Ni Y, Urban S. Endogenous and exogenous IFN responses suppress HDV persistence during proliferation of hepatocytes in vitro. 2019 EASL / International Liver Congress (Vienna, Austria). Poster.

[7]   Zhang Z, Ni Y, Urban S. IFN response suppresses HDV persistence during hepatocytes proliferation in vitro. 2018 International HBV Meeting (Taormina, Italy). Oral presentation.

[8]   Zhang Z, Mehnert AK, Zehnder B, Bekker C, Seitz S, Bruss V, Urban S. Site-specific labeling of the HBV and HDV envelope using mCherry-S fusion protein. 2017 international HBV meeting (Washington, D.C. USA). Poster.

Zhang Z, Ni Y, Filzmayer C, Sültmann H, Urban S. Hepatitis D Virus replication induces MDA5 mediated IFN-β/λ responses in immune-competent susceptible cells. 2016 international HBV meeting (Seoul, Korea). Oral presentation.