Rate My Professor Xiaodgon Zhang

Professor Zhang's research utilizes structural biology methods, including X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, to investigate macromolecular machines in DNA processing. Her work focuses on bacterial transcription regulation, particularly the sigma54-dependent system involving DNA melting and template strand delivery controlled by AAA ATPase activator proteins; DNA damage signalling, response, and repair; chromatin remodeling; and the multifunctional p97 protein. Key publications include 'Molecular basis of FIGNL1 in dissociating RAD51 from DNA and chromatin' (Science, 2025), 'A DNA damage-induced phosphorylation circuit enhances Mec1ATR-Ddc2ATRIP recruitment to Replication Protein A' (PNAS, 2023), 'Mechanisms of DNA opening revealed in AAA transcription complex structure' (Science Advances, 2022), 'Structures of Bacterial RNA Polymerase Complexes Reveal the Mechanism of DNA Loading and Transcription Initiation' (Molecular Cell, 2018), and 'Structures of the RNA polymerase-sigma54 reveal new and conserved regulatory strategies' (Science, 2015). Her contributions have provided insights into bacterial stress response gene regulation and DNA damage repair mechanisms. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society (2024), Member of EMBO (2016), Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (2011), recipient of the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2011), Wellcome Trust Investigator and Discovery Awards, and Human Frontier Science Programme Young Investigator Award (2002-2005).