Zhe Yang

Zhe Yang is a full Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He directs an active research laboratory that integrates structural biology, molecular & cell biology, and artificial-intelligence-driven computational approaches to study the SMYD family of lysine methyltransferases.

Education & Training

• Ph.D., Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (1999)
• Post-doctoral Fellow, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA (2002)
• Post-doctoral Fellow, Emory University, Atlanta, GA (2007)

Research Interests

Professor Yang’s work focuses on the structure and function of SET- and MYND-domain-containing (SMYD) proteins—key epigenetic regulators whose dysregulation contributes to cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and male infertility. Using high-resolution structural biology, omics profiling, and deep-learning analyses, his group deciphers how SMYD proteins reprogram transcriptional networks, RNA processing, metabolism, angiogenesis, and stress adaptation in malignant and non-malignant contexts. Current translational efforts center on SMYD4 and SMYD5 as first-in-class therapeutic targets in oncology and rare diseases, as well as on SMYD-controlled stem-cell fate decisions that underpin male reproductive health.

Publication Trends

His 2022–2024 output is dominated by mechanistic dissections of SMYD2 and SMYD5 in vascular smooth-muscle biology and cancer, alongside authoritative reviews and book chapters on AI-guided single-cell toxicogenomics of engineered nanoparticles. Collectively, these works advance both fundamental chromatin biology and clinically relevant biomarker discovery.

Scientific Awards

• No specific awards listed in the provided text.

Advising & Grant Activity

Professor Yang is currently accepting new M.S. and Ph.D. students into the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) program for 2024. His laboratory is supported by federal and institutional grants aimed at epigenetic drug discovery and precision medicine.

Laboratory & Team

He leads the Yang Laboratory located in 4340 Scott Hall at Wayne State University, where a multidisciplinary team of graduate students, post-docs, and research staff pursue integrated structural, molecular, and computational projects on SMYD biology and nanotoxicology.