“Westlake University is a place with a quite profound academic atmosphere, where young scientists are provided with the greatest freedom to explore the natural world\'s mysteries. So let\'s work together to pursue knowledge and create a better human civilization.”
Biography
Dr. En-Zhi Shen received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the National Institute of Biological Sciences (Beijing) in 2014, working with Meng-Qiu Dong and collaborating closely with Heping (Peace) Cheng’s group at Peking University to study the function of mitochondria in aging. From 2015 to 2019, as a postdoctoral researcher in the Craig C. Mello lab in the RNA Therapeutics Institute at Umass Chan Medical School, he expanded his research to small RNA biology and function. In October 2019, Dr. Shen joined Westlake University as an Assistant Professor.
Research
Argonaute (AGO) proteins and their associated small RNAs form sequence-specific fundamental regulators that regulate gene expression at transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. piRNAs (Piwi-interacting small RNAs) engage Piwi Argonautes to silence transposons and promote fertility in animal germlines. Dr. Shen employed a modified Cross-Linking And selection of Hybrids (P-CLASH) strategy to identify piRNA::target RNA hybrid reads that define more than 200,000 unique piRNA-target mRNA interactions in C. elegans. Computational analyses of the CLASH hybrid data set, along with an empirical analysis from a systematic mutagenesis study, reveal a coherent set of rules for piRNA-target mRNA pairing. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate that all mRNAs are scanned by the Piwi machinery but differ markedly in sensitivity to silencing. Currently, Dr. Shen’s team continues this journey into the surprising world of small RNA with the hope that his research will shed light on the mechanism and function of Argonaute-mediated small RNA pathways, and ultimately use these insights to further our understanding of the Argonaute system important in animal development, reproduction, and human diseases.
Representative Publications
1. Zhiqing Li, Zhenzhen Li, Yuqi Zhang, Lunni Zhou, Qikui Xu, Lili Li, Lin Zeng, Junchao Xue, Huilin Niu, Jing Zhong, Qilu Yu, Dengfeng Li, Miao Gui, Yongping Huang, Shikui Tu, ZZ Zhao Zhang, Chun-Qing Song*, Jianping Wu*, En-Zhi Shen*, “Mammalian PIWI-piRNA-target complexes reveal features for broad and efficient target-silencing”, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, (In press)
2. Xin-Yuan Lyu, Yuan Deng, Xiao-Yan Huang, Zhen-Zhen Li, Guo-Qing Fang, Dong Yang, Feng-Liu Wang, Wang Kang, En-Zhi Shen*, Chun-Qing Song*, “CRISPR FISHer enables high-sensitivity imaging of nonrepetitive DNA in living cells through phase separation-mediated signal Amplification”, Cell Research, 32:969–981(2022)
3. Siyuan Dai, Xiaoyin Tang, Lili Li, Takao Ishidate, Ahmet R. Ozturk, Hao Chen, Altair L. Dube, Yong-Hong Yan, Meng-Qiu Dong, En-Zhi Shen*, and Craig C. Mello*, “A family of C. elegans VASA homologs control Argonaute pathway specificity and promote transgenerational silencing”, Cell Reports, 40, 111265 (2022)
4. Zhiqing Li, Xiaoyin Tang, En-Zhi Shen, “How mammalian piRNAs instruct de novo DNA methylation of transposons”, Signal Transduct Target Ther. 5, 190 (2020).
5. En-Zhi Shen, Hao Chen, Ahmet R. Ozturk, Shikui Tu, Masaki Shirayama, Wen Tang, Yue-He Ding, Si-Yuan Dai, Zhiping Weng, Craig C. Mello, “Identification of piRNA binding sites reveals the Argonaute regulatory landscape of the C. elegans germline”, Cell, 172, 1-15 (2018).
6. Wen Tang, Meetu Seth, Shikui Tu, En-Zhi Shen, Qian Li, Masaki Shirayama, Zhiping Weng, Craig C. Mello, “A sex chromosome piRNA promotes robust dosage compensation and sex determination in C. elegans”, Development Cell, 44, 1-9 (2018).
7. Takao Ishidate, Ahmet R. Ozturk, Daniel J. Durning, Rita Sharma, En-Zhi Shen, Hao Chen, Meetu Seth, Masaki Shirayama and Craig C. Mello, “ZNFX-1 functions within perinuclear nuage to balance epigenetic signals”, Molecular Cell, 70, 639-649 (2018).
8. En-Zhi Shen, Chun-Qing Song, Yuan Lin, Wen-Hong Zhang, Pei-Fang Su, Wen-Yuan Liu, Pan Zhang, Jiejia Xu, Na Lin, Cheng Zhan, Xianhua Wang, Yu Shyr, Heping Cheng, Meng-Qiu Dong, “Mitoflash frequency in early adulthood predicts lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans”, Nature, 508, 128-132 (2014).
9. En-Zhi Shen, Yan Lei, Qian Liu, Yan-Bo Zheng, Chun-Qing Song, Jan Marc, Yong-Chao Wang, Le Sun, Qian-Jin Liang, “Identification and characterization of INMAP, a novel interphase nucleus and mitotic apparatus protein that is involved in spindle formation and cell cycle progression” Experimental Cell Research, 2009, 315, 1100-1116.
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