Tenure-Track Associate Professor, Doctoral Supervisor Department of Human Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology
Dr. Wenliang Zhu received his Bachelor's degree from Qingdao University School of Medicine in 2012 and his Ph.D. from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2019. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School. He joined the Department of Human Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology in August 2025.
Dr. Zhu has long been engaged in translational research on gene editing technologies, developing gene therapy strategies for genetic diseases by integrating gene editing, stem cell, and in vivo delivery technologies, combined with human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived organoids and animal disease models. His findings have been published as first author (including co-first author) in leading international journals such as Science Translational Medicine, JCI, and Nature Communications.
Our group’s research focuses on the development and optimization of gene editing tools, the construction of in vivo delivery systems for nucleic acids and proteins, and their application in the treatment of monogenic diseases:
Gene Editing and Delivery Platforms – Optimizing the efficiency and specificity of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, and developing virus-like particle (VLP)- and bio-nanoparticle-based delivery systems to address the key "vector delivery" bottleneck in gene therapy.
Novel gene-editing tools: Leveraging protein engineering to develop miniaturized gene-editing tools suitable for in vivo gene therapy.
Gene Therapy Strategies for Monogenic Diseases – Establishing mouse models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), hereditary hearing loss (DFNA5), hemophilia A (FVIII), and other diseases to systematically evaluate the safety and efficacy of gene repair and gene replacement strategies.
Disease Modeling Systems – Building in vitro and in vivo platforms for genetic disease modeling and therapeutic evaluation, using organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells in combination with disease model mice.
2012.09–2019.06, Ph.D., School of Medicine, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
2008.09–2012.06, B.S., School of Medicine, Qingdao University
2024.09–2025.08, Research Scientist, Massachusetts Eye and Ear / Harvard Medical School
2019.11–2024.09, Research Fellow, Massachusetts Eye and Ear / Harvard Medical School
Member, Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO)
Reviewer, Science Translational Medicine (since 2025)
Before SUSTECH
1. Wenliang Zhu, Wan Du, Arun Prabhu Rameshbabu, Ariel Miura Armstrong, Stewart Silver, Yehree Kim, Jessica Selina Khani, Laura Chu, Wei Wei, Yilai Shu, Xuezhong Liu, Morag A Lewis Karen P. Steel, Zheng-Yi Chen*. Targeted genome editing restores auditory function in adult mice with progressive hearing loss caused by a human microRNA mutation. Since Translational Medicine, 2024 （Cover story）
2. Wei Wei, Wenliang Zhu, Stewart Silver, Flecher Robbins, Arun Prabhu Rameshbabu, Ariel Armstrong, Katherina Walz, Yizhou Quan, Wan Du, Yehree Kim, Artur A. Indzhykulian, Yilai Shu*, Xue-Zhong Liu*, Zheng-Yi Chen*. Single-dose genome editing therapy rescues auditory and vestibular functions in adult mice with DFNA41 deafness. JCI. 2025
3 Yong Tao, Veronica Lamas, Wan Du, Wenliang Zhu, Yiran Li, Madelynn N Whittaker, John A Zuris, David B Thompson, Arun Prabhu Rameshbabu, Yilai Shu, Xue Gao, Johnny H Hu, Charles Pei, Wei-Jia Kong, Xuezhong Liu, Hao Wu, Benjamin P Kleinstiver, David R Liu*, Zheng-Yi Chen*. Targeted genome editing restores auditory function in adult mice with progressive hearing loss caused by a human microRNA mutation. Nature Communication, 2023.
4. Xuezhong Liu*, Justin Lillywhite, Wenliang Zhu, Zaohua Huang, Anna M Clark, Nicholas Gosstola, Colin T Maguire, Derek Dykxhoorn, Zheng-Yi Chen*, Jun Yang*. Generation and Genetic Correction of USH2A c.2299delG Mutation in Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Genes, 2021.
