Introduction

Dr. Dachuan Zhang, Principal Investigator, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Dr. Zhang received his BS degree at Nanjing University in China in 2010, and PhD degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the United States in 2016. He conducted his PhD and postdoctoral studies under the supervision of Dr. Paul Frenette, a leading scientist in the field of hematology. He joined Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine as a Principal Investigator in 2022. The Zhang lab is interested in the regulatory networks for hematopoietic stem cells and innate immune cells, and the key roles of microbiota and peripheral nervous system in health and diseases. His previous studies have identified important roles for the microbiota in regulating neutrophil functional activity and inflammatory disease progression, and in controlling hematopoietic stem cell fate decisions by modulating local iron supply via macrophages. His ongoing research aims to further clarify the roles of microbiota and microenvironment in regulating HSC function and leukemic pathogenesis; to isolate, manipulate, and apply gut commensals in hematopoietic and inflammatory diseases; and to understand how peripheral nervous system interact with the hematopoietic and immune systems.