Rate My Professor Hongjin Zheng

Hongjin Zheng served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He earned his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Science and Technology of China and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Washington in Seattle, focusing on the structure and function of biomolecules. After completing postdoctoral training at the Janelia Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Zheng joined the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus around 2015, where he established and led a research program for approximately ten years.

Zheng's research employs cryo-electron microscopy to investigate the structure-function relationships of disease-related membrane proteins, particularly transporters involved in substrate translocation. His laboratory has generated significant structural insights into human solute carriers and bacterial ABC transporters. Key publications include 'Pathogenic siderophore ABC importer YbtPQ adopts a surprising fold of exporter' (Science Advances, 2020), 'Mechanism and inhibition of Streptococcus pneumoniae hyaluronan lyase by a mechanism of action based inhibitor' (Nature Communications, 2020), 'Mitochondrial accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides requires TOMM22 as a main Aβ receptor in yeast' (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2018), 'A substrate-induced gating mechanism is conserved among SLC26 solute transporters' (Communications Biology, 2022), and 'Anion Pathways in the NarK Nitrate/Nitrite Exchanger' (Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 2023). Zheng received the Boettcher Foundation Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Award in 2016 and an NIH R21 award. He was also honored with a 2018 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics new faculty award. His contributions advance understanding of protein dynamics in infectious diseases and neurodegeneration.