Faculty
SELF-INTRODUCTION：
Wenliang Zhu, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech).Principal Investigator.
Dr. Wenliang Zhu received his bachelor’s degree from Qingdao University, School of Medicine in 2012 and earned his Ph.D. in Medicine from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2019. From November 2019 to August 2025, he conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear. In August 2025, he joined the Department of Human Cell Biology and Genetics at the School of Medicine, SUSTech, as an Assistant Professor and independent Principal Investigator.
Dr. Zhu’s research focuses on translational medicine driven by gene editing technologies. By integrating gene editing, stem cells, in vivo delivery, and human pluripotent stem cell–derived organoids and animal models, his lab aims to develop gene therapy strategies for hereditary diseases.
He has published seven first-author papers. During his postdoctoral training, he conducted translational research on gene therapies for hereditary deafness using gene editing technologies. His work demonstrated restoration of hearing in adult mouse models of genetic deafness (Science Translational Medicine, 2024; Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2025; Nature Communications, 2023). As a graduate student, his research centered on stem cells and neural regeneration, where he developed targeted protein degradation technology (Nature Communications, 2019) and an immune tolerance induction strategy for cell therapy (Stem Cell Reports, 2023).
Dr. Zhu is the inventor of 4 pending PCT international patents and currently holds an h-index of 8.
EDUCATION:
Ph.D. in Medicine (Regenerative Medicine), Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2012.09 – 2019.06
Bachelor’s degree, School of Medicine, Qingdao University, 2008.09 – 2012.06
WOKRING EXPERIENCE:
Research Scientist, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, 2024.09 – 2025.08
Research Fellow, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, 2019.11 – 2024.09
RESEARCH:
Our research group is dedicated to translational medicine in gene editing–based therapies, with a focus on addressing key scientific challenges in the field:
1. Development of novel gene therapy strategies: Centered on the design, optimization, and application of next-generation precision gene editing systems.
2. Innovative in vivo delivery systems: Development of original delivery platforms tailored for gene therapy, including engineered AAV systems, non-viral vectors, and organ- or tissue-specific in vivo delivery approaches.
3. Establishment of disease modeling platforms: Using human pluripotent stem cell–derived organoids of various tissues, in combination with mouse disease models, to simulate genetic disorders and evaluate therapeutic interventions.
MANUSCRIPT REVIEWER AND EDITOR：
Member, Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO)
Reviewer, Science Translational Medicine (since 2025)
PUBLICATIONS：
1. Wenliang Zhu, Wan Du, Arun Prabhu Rameshbabu, Ariel Miura Armstrong, Stewart Silver, Yehree Kim, Jessica Selina Khani, Laura Chu, Wei Wei, Yilai Shu, Xuezhong Liu, Morag A Lewis Karen P. Steel, Zheng-Yi Chen*. Targeted genome editing restores auditory function in adult mice with progressive hearing loss caused by a human microRNA mutation. Since Translational Medicine, 2024 （Cover story）
2. Wei Wei, Wenliang Zhu, Stewart Silver, Flecher Robbins, Arun Prabhu Rameshbabu, Ariel Armstrong, Katherina Walz, Yizhou Quan, Wan Du, Yehree Kim, Artur A. Indzhykulian, Yilai Shu*, Xue-Zhong Liu*, Zheng-Yi Chen*. Restoration of Auditory and Vestibular Functions in Adult Mouse Model of Deafness DFNA41 by Single-Dose Genome Editing Therap. JCI. 2025
3. Wenliang Zhu, Mengqi Li, Jun Zou1, Da Zhang, Minghui Fang, Yun Sun, Can Li, Mingming Tang, Yukai Wang, Qi Zhou, Tongbiao Zhao, Wei Li, Zheng Hu, Baoyang Hu*. Induction of local immunosuppression in allogeneic cell transplantation by cell-type-specific expression of PD-L1 and CTLA4Ig. Stem Cell Reports, 2023.
4. Yong Tao, Veronica Lamas, Wan Du, Wenliang Zhu, Yiran Li, Madelynn N Whittaker, John A Zuris, David B Thompson, Arun Prabhu Rameshbabu, Yilai Shu, Xue Gao, Johnny H Hu, Charles Pei, Wei-Jia Kong, Xuezhong Liu, Hao Wu, Benjamin P Kleinstiver, David R Liu*, Zheng-Yi Chen*. Targeted genome editing restores auditory function in adult mice with progressive hearing loss caused by a human microRNA mutation. Nature Communication, 2023.
5. Xuezhong Liu*, Justin Lillywhite, Wenliang Zhu, Zaohua Huang, Anna M Clark, Nicholas Gosstola, Colin T Maguire, Derek Dykxhoorn, Zheng-Yi Chen*, Jun Yang*. Generation and Genetic Correction of USH2A c.2299delG Mutation in Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Genes, 2021.
6. Wenliang Zhu, Boya Zhang, Mengqi Li, Fan Mo, Tingwei Mi, Yihui Wu, Zhaoqian Teng, Qi Zhou*, Wei Li*, Baoyang Hu*. Precisely controlling endogenous protein dosage in hPSCs and derivatives to model FOXG1 syndrome. Nature Communications, 2019.
7. Wenliang Zhu, Mengqi Li, Yihui Wu, Baoyang Hu*. Precise immune tolerance for hPSC derivatives in clinical application. Cellular Immunology, 2017.