Yongxin (Leon) Zhao
Associate Professor
Address:
202A Mellon Institute
Department of Biological Sciences
Â鶹´å
4400 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Office: 412-268-8236
Lab: 412-268-1809
Education
Ph.D., University of Alberta
Postdoctoral Appointment, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Research
Our lab is an interdisciplinary research group that combines diverse bioengineering and chemical approaches to develop novel techniques for interrogation of biological and pathological processes in cells and tissues. Our long-term objective is to foster and develop new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for complex diseases.
Tools for mapping structural and molecular properties of complex biological systems
Complex biological systems are delicate machines consist of building blocks (such as proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates) that are precisely organized in the nanoscale. This presents a fundamental challenge for humanity to understand the biology and/or pathology underlying these complex systems. To gain the insight into physiological/pathological functions, one might need to map a large diversity of nanoscale building blocks, over a wide spatial scale. To tackle this challenge, we are developing a set of novel technologies that enable large scale visualization of biological samples with nanoscale precision, by physically expanding the sample rather than magnifying the light from the sample via lenses. This principle is called expansion microscopy (ExM). By combining various material engineering and chemical approaches, we are advancing ExM-based tools that may elucidate biological insights into the brain and other complex systems, such as cancer and infectious diseases.
Tools for probing dynamics of biological processes.
Biological systems are essentially 3D, highly-linked networks that sense, compute and respond to internal or external stimuli via widely distributed and diversified cells interacting over various timescales. To understand such complex biological systems, ideally, it would require observation of the activity of numerous populations of cells with a high degree of precision and resolution down to molecular building block. In this way, we can understand the functions and dynamics that are produced by the interactions between different cells as well as subcellular signaling events within individual cells.
In the Zhao Biophotonics lab, we are developing a spectrum of innovations to enable such analyses of dynamics of biological processes. Our tools will enable insight into how biological components work together to implement physiological functions, and how these interactions go awry in disease states. We also seek to harness our tools to assay disease biomarkers and indicators of drug effects. We will build upon our previous development of genetically encoded calcium ion indicators and voltage indicators to create probes for diverse signaling molecules, (e.g., neurotransmitters) and molecular events (e.g., protein-protein interactions).
Recent Publications
A. Klimas, B. Gallagher, P. Wijesekara, S. Fekir, E. F. DiBernardo, Z. Cheng, D. Stolz, F. Cambi, S. Watkins, S. L. Brody, A. Horani, A. L. Barth, C. Moore, X. Ren, Y. Zhao*, ''. Nature Biotechnology published 02 Jan. 2023.
F. Han, S. Gu, A. Klimas, N. Zhao, Y. Zhao* (co-corresponding), S-C, Chen*, '', Science, 2022, 378, 6626
A. Abdelfattah, S. Ahuja, T. Akkin, S.R. Allu, D.A. Boas, J. Brake, E.M. Buckley, ..., Y. Zhao, '', Neurophotonics, 2022, 9 (S1), 013001 [Review]
L. Shi, A. Klimas, B. Gallagher, Z. Cheng, F. Fu, P. Wijesekara, Y. Miao, X. Ren, Y Zhao* (co-corresponding author), W Min*, '', Advanced Science, 2022, 2200315.
B. Gallagher, Y. Zhao*, ‘, Neurobiology of Disease, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105362
A. Klimas, Y. Zhao*, ‘, ACS Nano, 2020, 14, 7, 7689–7695, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c04374
O. Bucur, F. Fu, M. Calderon, G. H. Mylvaganam, N. L. Ly, J. Day, S. Watkin, B. D. Walker, E. S. Boyden*, Y. Zhao*, ‘’, Nature Protocol, 2020, 4, .
B. Gallagher, Y. Zhao*, , Discoveries, 2019, 7, e101 [Cover paper]
S. Cheng, Y. Zhao*, , Discoveries, 2019,7, e98 [Cover paper]
A. Klimas, B. Gallagher, Y Zhao*, , Current Protocols in Cytometry, 2019, 91 (1), e67
A. Klimas, O. Bucur, B. Njeri, Y. Zhao*, . J. Vis. Exp. 2019, e60195.
Y. Zhao, W. Zhang, Y. Zhao, R.E. Campbell, D.J. Harrison, ‘’, Lab on a Chip, 19 (22), 3880-3887
Y. Adam, J. J. Kim, S. Lou, Y. Zhao, M. E. Xie, D. Brinks, H. Wu, M. A. Mostajo-Radji, S. Kheifets, V. Parot, S. Chettih, K. J. Williams, B. Gmeiner, S. L. Farhi, L. Madisen, E. K. Buchanan, I. Kinsella, D. Zhou, L. Paninski, C. D. Harvey, H. Zeng, P. Arlotta, R. E. Campbell, A. E. Cohen. ‘’, Nature, 2019, 569, 413–417
R. Gao, S. M. Asano, S. Upadhyayula, I. Pisarev, D. E. Milkie, T. L. Liu, V. Singh, A. Graves, G. H Huynh, Y. Zhao, J. Bogovic, J. Colonell, C. M Ott, C. Zugates, S. Tappan, A. Rodriguez, K. R Mosaliganti, S.-H. Sheu, H A. Pasolli, S. Pang, C S. Xu, S. G Megason, H. Hess, J. Lippincott-Schwartz, A. Hantman, G. M Rubin, T. Kirchhausen, S. Saalfeld, Y. Aso, E. S. Boyden, E. Betzig, ‘’, Science, 2019, 363 (6424), eaau8302
A. T. Wassie (co-first), Y. Zhao (co-first), E.S. Boyden*, ‘‘, Nature Methods 2019, 16, p. 33–41
O. Bucur*, Y. Zhao*, ‘‘ Frontiers in Medicine, 2018,
Y. Zhao (equal contribution), O. Bucur (equal contribution), H. Irshad, F. Chen, A. Weins, A. L. Stancu, E – Y. Oh, M. DiStasio, V. Torous, B. Glass, I. E. Stillman, S. J. Schnitt, A. H. Beck*, E. S. Boyden*, ‘.’ Nature Biotechnology, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3892 [See also and ]
P. W. Tillberg, F. Chen, K.D. Piatkevich, Y. Zhao, C.-C. Yu, B. P. English, L. Gao, A. Martorell, H.-J. Suk, F. Yoshida, E. M. DeGennaro, D. H.Roossien, G.. Gong, U. Seneviratne, S. R. Tannenbaum, R. Desimone, D. Cai, E. S. Boyden*, ‘’, Nature Biotechnology, 2016, 34 (9), 987–992. [Cover article in September 2016 issue of Nature Biotechnology (volume 34, No. 9).]
L. Tang, Y. Wang, W. Liu, Y. Zhao, R. E. Campbell, and C. Fang, ‘’, The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2017, 121 (14), 3016–3023
A. S. Abdelfattah, S. L. Farhi (equal contribution), Y. Zhao (equal contribution), D. Brinks, P. Zou, A. Ruangkittisaku, J. Platisa,V. A. Pieribone, K. Ballanyi, A. E. Cohen, and R. E. Campbell* , ‘’, The Journal of Neuroscience, 2016 , 36 (8): 2458-2472
F. Hatahet, J. L Blazyk, E. Martineau, E. Mandela, Y. Zhao, R. E Campbell, J. Beckwith, D. Boyd*, ‘’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015, 112 (49): 15184-15189
L. Tang, W. Liu, Y. Wang, Y. Zhao, B. G. Oscar, R. E. Campbell, C. Fang*, ‘’, Chemistry-A European Journal, 2015, 21 (17), 6481-6490
T. Albrecht (equal contribution), Y. Zhao (equal contribution), T. Nguyen, R. E. Campbell* and J. D. Johnson*, ‘’, Cell Calcium, 2015, 57 (4), 263-274
Y. Wang , L. Tang , W. Liu , Y. Zhao , B. G. Oscar , R. E. Campbell, and C. Fang*, ‘’, The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2015, 119 (6), 2204–2218.
D. R. Hochbaum (equal contribution), Y. Zhao (equal contribution), S. L. Farhi, N. Klapoetke, C. A. Werley, V. Kapoor, P. Zou, J. M. Krajl, D. Maclaurin, N. Smedemark-Margulies, J. Saulnier, G. L. Bouting, Y. Cho, M. Melkonian, G. K. Wong, D. J. Harrison, V. Murthy, B. Sabatini, E. S. Boyden (equal contribution), R. E. Campbell (equal contribution; *correspondence related to directed evolution), A. E. Cohen*, ‘’, Nature Methods, 2014, 11, 825–833.
B. G. Oscar, W. Liu, Y. Zhao, L. Tang, Y. Wang, R. E. Campbell, and C. Fang, ‘’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014, 111(28) 10191–10196.
Y. Zhao, A. S. Abdelfattah, A. Ruangkittisakul, K. Ballanyi, R. E. Campbell* and D. J. Harrison*, ‘’, Integrative Biology, 2014, 6, 714-725