Biography
Dr. Sida Shao was born in 1990 in Tianjin, China. He received his B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Peking University in 2013 under the guidance of Dr. Hongkui Deng with a focus on somatic cell reprogramming. Dr. Shao obtained his Ph.D. degree in Chemical Biology in 2019 from the Scripps Research Institute under the supervision of Dr. Peter G. Schultz. Following graduation, he joined Calibr, the translational research division of Scripps Research, as a Principal Investigator, developing novel small molecules for alveolar regeneration. His past research culminated with a preclinical candidate for regenerative lung repair, which will enter a first-in-human study in 2024. Dr. Sida Shao joined Westlake University as an assistant professor in August 2023. His research resides at the interface of chemistry and stem cell biology, focusing on applying and developing novel chemical tools to study tissue regeneration.
History
We are actively building our research team at present. We always seek great new members to add to our team! Available positions include postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and research assistants. Highly motivated candidates are encouraged to send a CV and description of past research and future research goals/interests to Dr. Shao via email.
Research
Dr. Sida Shao’s research resided at the intersection between chemical biology and stem cell biology with a focus on understanding and manipulating stem cell behavior with chemistry principle and methods. From a high-throughput phenotypic screening, Dr. Shao identified a class of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors promoting the expansion of alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells, stem cell of the alveolus, depletion of which is determining of etiology in many chronic lung diseases. In various lung injury models, DPP4 inhibitors reduced disease severity and accelerated alveolar repair by inducing AT2 cell expansion and regeneration. Later on, a novel regulatory role of DPP4 in alveolar regeneration was elucidated. Based on this discovery, Dr. Shao led a multidisciplinary research team and successfully developed a novel lung-targeted DPP4 inhibitor as a preclinical candidate for alveolar regeneration. A phase I clinical trial will take place in 2024, with the hope that it will be the first-in-class regenerative therapy for numerous major pulmonary diseases.
Representative Publications
1. Shao, S.*, Zhang, N., Specht, G. P., Song, L., Fu, Q., Huang, D., You, H., Shu, J., Domissy, A., Li, S., Nguyen-Tran, V., Joseph, S. B., Chatterjee, A. K., Chen, J. J., Schultz, P. G.* & Bollong, M. J.*, A pharmacological approach to regenerative lung repair, Science Translational Medicine, 2023, in revision
2. Shao, S., Koh, M. & Schultz, P. G.*, Expanding the genetic code of the human hematopoietic system, Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2020, 117(16), 8845-8849.
Patent application:
1. Bollong, M. J., Schultz, P. G., Shao, S., Chatterjee, A. K., Chen, J., Zhang, N., Small molecule regulators of alveolar type 2 cell proliferation for the treatment of pulmonary diseases, 2022-1-20, WO2022159955A1
2. Bollong, M. J., Schultz, P. G., Shao, S., Chatterjee, A. K., Chen, J., Zhang, N., Small molecule regulators of alveolar type 2 cell proliferation for the treatment of pulmonary diseases, 2022-1-14, WO2022155674A1
3. Kremer, D., Shao, S., Schultz, P. G., Bollong, M. J., Antimalarial endoperoxide for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome, 2022-5-16, WO2022251788A1
Contact Us
Email: shaosida@westlake.edu.cn