Zhang, Zhentao M.D., Ph.D

 

Title and Affiliation:

Professor, chief physician, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.

 

Biosketch:

Dr. Zhang's research focuses on disease proteins that form pathological inclusions in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). His work demonstrated that the fragmentation, modification by homocysteine and DOPEGAL, and other post-translational modification of Tau and alpha-synuclein promote the aggregation and propagation of these pathologic proteins, leading to neurodegeneration. Furthermore, his group demonstrated that endogenous and exogenous seeds trigger the aggregation of Tau and alpha-synuclein. He is also interested in the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic dysfunction and neuronal injury in neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, his work supports that the protease asparagine endopeptidase (AEP) plays a key role in mediating AD and PD pathogenesis. He has authored or co-authored over 80 professional publications in the field of neurobiology, most of which are on Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

 

Field of Expertise: Neurodegenerative diseases