Dr Cheng Zhang
(he/him)
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Overview
I have a robust background in biochemical engineering and bioprocess development, with expertise spanning wet lab research, computational modelling, and automation. My work focuses on protein design, molecular dynamics, and freeze-drying of biologics, with extensive experience in vaccine bioprocessing, drug development, and stability studies for therapeutic proteins. I integrate experimental and computational methods to enhance formulation and manufacturability, contributing to advancements in biopharmaceutical development and delivery.
In my current role as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Cardiff University, I am focused on advancing our understanding of protein-protein interactions using innovative fluorescent tools to monitor homo-oligomerization in situ. My research involves recombinant protein production, protein molecular analysis, and cell imaging, with an emphasis on the application of fluorescent proteins to study structural and functional dynamics. Through collaborative efforts within the School of Biosciences, I aim to contribute to high-impact publications and patent applications, while also engaging in communal lab activities and supporting postgraduate student research. This role allows me to synthesize my technical expertise in protein engineering and molecular analysis to further our knowledge of protein behavior in complex biological environments.
Publication
2024
- Lalaurie, C., Zhang, C., Liu, S., Bunting, K. and Dalby, P. 2024. An open source in silico workflow to assist in the design of fusion proteins. Computational Biology and Chemistry 113, article number: 108209. (10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2024.108209)
- Pandya, A., Zhang, C., Barata, T. S., Brocchini, S., Howard, M. J., Zloh, M. and Dalby, P. A. 2024. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal how competing protein-surface interactions for glycine, citrate, and water modulate stability in antibody fragment formulations. Molecular Pharmaceutics 21(11), pp. 5497–5509. (10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.4c00332)
2023
- Tang, J., Zhang, C., Codina Castillo, N., Lalaurie, C. J., Gao, X., Dalby, P. A. and Kozielski, F. 2023. Crystal structures and molecular dynamics simulations of a humanised antibody fragment at acidic to basic pH. Scientific Reports 13(1), article number: 16281. (10.1038/s41598-023-42698-7)
- Zhang, C., Berg, A., Joe, C. C. D., Dalby, P. A. and Douglas, A. D. 2023. Lyophilization to enable distribution of ChAdOx1 and ChAdOx2 adenovirus-vectored vaccines without refrigeration. npj Vaccines 8(1), article number: 85. (10.1038/s41541-023-00674-2)
- Zhang, C. et al. 2023. Enhanced Thermal Stability and Reduced Aggregation in an Antibody Fab Fragment at Elevated Concentrations. Molecular Pharmaceutics 20(5), pp. 2650-2661. (10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00081)
2022
- Zhang, C. and Dalby, P. A. 2022. Assessing and Engineering Antibody Stability Using Experimental and Computational Methods. Methods in Molecular Biology 2552, pp. 165-197. (10.1007/978-1-0716-2609-2_9)
- Lee, W., Pradhan, S., Zhang, C., Venanzi, N. A. E., Li, W., Goldrick, S. and Dalby, P. A. 2022. Directed evolution for soluble and active periplasmic expression of bovine enterokinase in Escherichia coli. Scientific Reports 12(1), article number: 17721. (10.1038/s41598-022-22574-6)
2021
- Zhang, C., Codina, N., Tang, J., Yu, H., Chakroun, N., Kozielski, F. and Dalby, P. A. 2021. Comparison of the pH- and thermally-induced fluctuations of a therapeutic antibody Fab fragment by molecular dynamics simulation. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 19, pp. 2726-2741. (10.1016/j.csbj.2021.05.005)
- Zhang, H., Yang, Y., Zhang, C., Farid, S. S. and Dalby, P. A. 2021. Machine learning reveals hidden stability code in protein native fluorescence. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 19, pp. 2750 - 2760. (10.1016/j.csbj.2021.04.047)
2019
- Codina, N., Hilton, D., Zhang, C., Chakroun, N., Ahmad, S. S., Perkins, S. J. and Dalby, P. A. 2019. An Expanded Conformation of an Antibody Fab Region by X-Ray Scattering, Molecular Dynamics, and smFRET Identifies an Aggregation Mechanism. Journal of Molecular Biology 431(7), pp. 1409-1425. (10.1016/j.jmb.2019.02.009)
2018
- Zhang, C., Samad, M., Yu, H., Chakroun, N., Hilton, D. and Dalby, P. A. 2018. Computational Design To Reduce Conformational Flexibility and Aggregation Rates of an Antibody Fab Fragment. Molecular Pharmaceutics 15(8), pp. 3079-3092. (10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.8b00186)
2017
- Yu, H., Yan, Y., Zhang, C. and Dalby, P. A. 2017. Two strategies to engineer flexible loops for improved enzyme thermostability. Scientific Reports 7(1), article number: 41212. (10.1038/srep41212)
2016
- Barata, T., Zhang, C., Dalby, P., Brocchini, S. and Zloh, M. 2016. Identification of Protein–Excipient Interaction Hotspots Using Computational Approaches. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 17(6) (10.3390/ijms17060853)
Articles
- Lalaurie, C., Zhang, C., Liu, S., Bunting, K. and Dalby, P. 2024. An open source in silico workflow to assist in the design of fusion proteins. Computational Biology and Chemistry 113, article number: 108209. (10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2024.108209)
- Pandya, A., Zhang, C., Barata, T. S., Brocchini, S., Howard, M. J., Zloh, M. and Dalby, P. A. 2024. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal how competing protein-surface interactions for glycine, citrate, and water modulate stability in antibody fragment formulations. Molecular Pharmaceutics 21(11), pp. 5497–5509. (10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.4c00332)
- Tang, J., Zhang, C., Codina Castillo, N., Lalaurie, C. J., Gao, X., Dalby, P. A. and Kozielski, F. 2023. Crystal structures and molecular dynamics simulations of a humanised antibody fragment at acidic to basic pH. Scientific Reports 13(1), article number: 16281. (10.1038/s41598-023-42698-7)
- Zhang, C., Berg, A., Joe, C. C. D., Dalby, P. A. and Douglas, A. D. 2023. Lyophilization to enable distribution of ChAdOx1 and ChAdOx2 adenovirus-vectored vaccines without refrigeration. npj Vaccines 8(1), article number: 85. (10.1038/s41541-023-00674-2)
- Zhang, C. et al. 2023. Enhanced Thermal Stability and Reduced Aggregation in an Antibody Fab Fragment at Elevated Concentrations. Molecular Pharmaceutics 20(5), pp. 2650-2661. (10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00081)
- Zhang, C. and Dalby, P. A. 2022. Assessing and Engineering Antibody Stability Using Experimental and Computational Methods. Methods in Molecular Biology 2552, pp. 165-197. (10.1007/978-1-0716-2609-2_9)
- Lee, W., Pradhan, S., Zhang, C., Venanzi, N. A. E., Li, W., Goldrick, S. and Dalby, P. A. 2022. Directed evolution for soluble and active periplasmic expression of bovine enterokinase in Escherichia coli. Scientific Reports 12(1), article number: 17721. (10.1038/s41598-022-22574-6)
- Zhang, C., Codina, N., Tang, J., Yu, H., Chakroun, N., Kozielski, F. and Dalby, P. A. 2021. Comparison of the pH- and thermally-induced fluctuations of a therapeutic antibody Fab fragment by molecular dynamics simulation. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 19, pp. 2726-2741. (10.1016/j.csbj.2021.05.005)
- Zhang, H., Yang, Y., Zhang, C., Farid, S. S. and Dalby, P. A. 2021. Machine learning reveals hidden stability code in protein native fluorescence. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 19, pp. 2750 - 2760. (10.1016/j.csbj.2021.04.047)
- Codina, N., Hilton, D., Zhang, C., Chakroun, N., Ahmad, S. S., Perkins, S. J. and Dalby, P. A. 2019. An Expanded Conformation of an Antibody Fab Region by X-Ray Scattering, Molecular Dynamics, and smFRET Identifies an Aggregation Mechanism. Journal of Molecular Biology 431(7), pp. 1409-1425. (10.1016/j.jmb.2019.02.009)
- Zhang, C., Samad, M., Yu, H., Chakroun, N., Hilton, D. and Dalby, P. A. 2018. Computational Design To Reduce Conformational Flexibility and Aggregation Rates of an Antibody Fab Fragment. Molecular Pharmaceutics 15(8), pp. 3079-3092. (10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.8b00186)
- Yu, H., Yan, Y., Zhang, C. and Dalby, P. A. 2017. Two strategies to engineer flexible loops for improved enzyme thermostability. Scientific Reports 7(1), article number: 41212. (10.1038/srep41212)
- Barata, T., Zhang, C., Dalby, P., Brocchini, S. and Zloh, M. 2016. Identification of Protein–Excipient Interaction Hotspots Using Computational Approaches. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 17(6) (10.3390/ijms17060853)
Research
Current Research:
In my current role as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Cardiff University, my research centers on elucidating protein-protein interactions using novel fluorescent tools to monitor homo-oligomerisation in situ. This work involves recombinant protein production, molecular analysis, and advanced cell imaging techniques to study protein dynamics in real-time within complex biological environments. Through collaborative efforts within the School of Biosciences, I aim to contribute to high-impact publications and potentially generate data for patent filings, applying my expertise in protein engineering and molecular analysis to expand our understanding of protein behavior in situ.
Previous Research:
In my previous research roles, I developed a diverse set of bioprocess and computational expertise. As a Research Fellow at UCL within the EPSRC Vaccine Bioprocessing Hub, I focused on automating experimental pipelines to support sustainable vaccine production, leveraging no-code technologies to enhance resource efficiency and data sharing. My industry experience at Kymab/Sanofi involved leading freeze-drying studies in the Drug Product Development team, where I contributed to drug formulation stability for biopharmaceuticals.
Prior to these roles, I held a secondment at Ipsen Bioinnovation, where I combined molecular dynamics, molecular docking, and machine learning to predict stable protein formulations, facilitating knowledge transfer of computational techniques to industrial applications. Earlier in my career, as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at UCL, I investigated formulation stability and aggregation mechanisms in protein therapeutics, including developing the freeze-drying cycle for the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. This varied experience has provided a strong foundation in both experimental and computational bioprocessing methods.
Biography
I completed my B.Eng. in Bioengineering at Zhejiang University of Technology, China, in 2011, ranking first in my class. In 2012, I pursued an MRes in Biochemical Engineering at University College London (UCL), followed by a PhD in Biochemical Engineering at UCL, where my research focused on freeze-drying engineered proteins, funded by the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing.
After completing my PhD, I took on a Postdoctoral Research Associate position at UCL in 2017, where I investigated protein therapeutics formulation and contributed to the global COVID-19 response by developing a freeze-drying cycle for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. In 2021, I undertook a secondment at Ipsen Bioinnovation, focusing on computational approaches to predict stable biologics formulations, followed by a Scientist role at Kymab/Sanofi, where I led studies on drug product development.
In 2024, I joined the EPSRC Vaccine Bioprocessing Hub at UCL as a Research Fellow, where I developed automated experimentation pipelines to support sustainable vaccine production. Later in 2024, I joined Cardiff University as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, where I currently focus on protein-protein interactions and molecular analysis in protein engineering.
Professional memberships
Member of Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC)
Contact Details
Sir Martin Evans Building, Floor 2, Room W/2.52(45-53), Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX