Ning Zheng

Dr. Zheng is a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and was trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Research in Dr. Zheng’s group seeks to understand the intricate interactions and coordinated functions of proteins and signaling molecules found in all kingdoms of life. Using a structural biology approach, Dr. Zheng and his team conduct studies that span several interwoven research areas, including protein ubiquitination, transcription regulation, plant hormone signaling, and ion channel functions. In the past two decades, the Zheng lab has elucidated various regulatory mechanisms governing specific substrate recognition by ubiquitin ligases. He raised the concept of “molecular glue” for the first time based on his discovery of the mechanism of action of auxin, a master plant hormone targeting a ubiquitin ligase-substrate interface. The overarching goal of his studies is to apply the biological principles they learn from basic research to the development of novel therapeutics and the balancing of the planet’s ecological systems.