My research goal is to identify the molecular mechanisms that regulate pediatric leukemia initiation and development. Our team use gene-expression/epigenome profiling, leukemic mouse models and gene-editing tools to identify essential mechanisms for leukemia progression, and move these bench-top findings toward the clinical application for human leukemic patients. As a principal investigator, I am funded by multiple national research grants, and these works resulted in multiple publications in Nature Cell Biology, J Clin Invest, Blood, Nucleic Acids Research, etc.

Ph.D., Internal Medicine, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China, 2010-2013

M.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China 2006-2009

B. S., Bioengineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China 2002-2006

Professor, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China, 2022-

Director of Technology Transfer Office, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin, China, 2020-

Associate Professor, Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China, 2013-2021

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

1. Jiarui Zheng, Linlin Jin, Yunlong Chen, Yongjuan Duan, Suyu Zong, Peng Wu, Xiaofan Zhu, Wenyu Yang*, Tianyuan Hu*, Yingchi Zhang*. Targeting p16INK4a-mediated cellular senescence as a therapeutic strategy for FLT3-ITD-driven acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 2025 Nov;39(11): 2652-2662.

2. Jingliao Zhang#*, Yongjuan Duan#, Peng Wu#, Yanxia Chang#, Yue Wang, Tianyuan Hu, Chao Liu, Xiaoyan Chen, Suyu Zong, Xiaoli Chen, Yangping Wu, Linlin Jin, Yang Lan, Xiaoming Liu, Xuelian Cheng, Feng Ding, Tianyu Li, Xiaojuan Chen, Ye Guo, Yumei Chen, Wenyu Yang, Li Zhang, Yao Zou, Tao Cheng, Xiao-Fan Zhu*, Yingchi Zhang*. Clonal evolution dissection reveals high MSI2 level promotes chemo-resistance in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood. 2024 Jan 25;143(4):320-335.

3. Yaojin Huang#, Xiaowei Xie#, Mengyao Liu#, Yawen Zhang#, Junye Yang, Wenling Yang , Yu Hu, Saibing Qi, Yahui Feng, Guojun Liu, Shihong Lu, Xuemei Peng, Jinhui Ye, Shihui Ma, Jiali Sun, Lu Wang, Linping Hu, Lin Wang, Xiaofan Zhu, Hui Cheng, Zimin Sun, Junren Chen, Fang Dong*, Yingchi Zhang*, Tao Cheng*. Restoring mitochondrial function promotes hematopoietic reconstitution from cord blood following cryopreservation-related functional decline. J Clin Invest. 2025 Mar 4;135(9):e183607.

4. Jiapei Yuan*, Jingliao Zhang*, Beibei Zhao, Fang Liu, Tianfeng Liu, Yongjuan Duan, Yumei Chen, Xiaojuan Chen, Yao Zou, Li Zhang, Ye Guo, Wenyu Yang, Yang Yang, Jun Wei#, Xiaofan Zhu#, Yingchi Zhang#. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of the immune microenvironment in pediatric acute leukemia. Cancer Letters, 2024 Aug 1:596:217018.

5. Jingliao Zhang#, Tianfeng Liu#, Yongjuan Duan#, Yanxia Chang#, Lixian Chang, Chao Liu, Xiaoyan Chen, Xuelian Cheng, Tianyu Li, Wenyu Yang, Xiaojuan Chen, Ye Guo, Yumei Chen, Yao Zou, Li Zhang, XiaofanZhu*, Yingchi Zhang*. Single-cell analysis highlights a population of Th17-polarized CD4+ naïve T cells showing IL6/JAK3/STAT3 activation in pediatric severe aplastic anemia. J Autoimmun. 2023 Apr:136:103026.

6. Yingchi Zhang#, Shicheng Wang#, Jingliao Zhang#, Chao Liu#, Xinqi Li, Wenbo Guo, Yongjuan Duan, Xiaoyan Chen, Suyu Zong, Jiarui Zheng, Yixuan W u, Xiaoli Chen, Xuelian Cheng, Yanxia Chang, Yue Wang, Feng Ding, Wenyu Yang, Xiaojuan Chen, Ye Guo, Li Zhang, Yumei Chen, Yao Zou, Xiaofan Zhu*, Jin Gu*, Tao Cheng*. Elucidating Minimal Residual Disease of Pediatric B cell Acute Lymphoblastic leukemia by Single Cell Analysis. Nature Cell Biology, 2022 Feb;24(2):242-252.

7. Riguo Fang#, Jingliao Zhang#, Huihui Yang, Jia Shi, Huimin Zeng, Xiaofan Zhu, Dong Wei, Pengfei Yuan, Tao Cheng*, Yingchi Zhang*. Highly efficient gene editing and single cell analysis of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells from X-linked sideroblastic anemia patients. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2021 Jul 2;6(1):248.

8. Jingliao Zhang#, Yingchi Zhang#*, Man Zhang, Chao Liu, Xiaoming Liu, Jie Yin, Peng Wu, Xiaojuan Chen, Wenyu Yang, Li Zhang, Ye Guo, Yao Zou, Yumei Chen, Youjia Cao, Tao Cheng*, Xiaofan Zhu*. FLT3 pathway is a potential therapeutic target for PRC2 mutated T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood. 2018 Dec 6;132(23):2520-2524.

9. Yingchi Zhang#, Yufeng Gao#, Hui Zhang#, Jingliao Zhang, Fuhong He, Aleš Hnízda, Maoxiang Qian, Xiaoming Liu, Yoshihiro Gocho, Ching-Hon Pui, Tao Cheng, Qianfei Wang, Jun J. Yang*, Xiaofan Zhu*, Xin Liu*. PDGFRB mutation and tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance in Ph-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood. 2018 May 17;131(20):2256-2261.

10. Yingchi Zhang#, Jingliao Zhang#, Wenbin An#, Yang Wan, Shihui Ma, Jie Yin, Xichuan Li, Jie Gao, Weiping Yuan, Ye Guo, James Douglas Engel, Lihong Shi*, Tao Cheng*, Xiaofan Zhu*. Intron 1 GATA site enhances ALAS2 expression indispensably during erythroid differentiation. Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Jan 25;45(2):657-671.