Rate My Professor Lingbo Zhang

Lingbo Zhang is an Associate Professor and Cancer Center Member at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. in 2013 from the joint program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National University of Singapore at the Whitehead Institute, working with Dr. Harvey F. Lodish. Prior to his doctoral studies, he received the Tsinghua University Outstanding Master Degree Thesis Award and Tsinghua University National Graduate Fellowship in 2008. Zhang's research investigates normal and malignant stem and progenitor cells in the hematopoietic system, focusing on the role of metabolites in the tumor microenvironment. His laboratory decodes how nutrients such as vitamin B6 and neurotransmitters like acetylcholine, along with their genetic effectors including cholinergic receptor muscarinic 4 (CHRM4), regulate hematologic malignancies. Key discoveries include the hematopoietic arc as a neuronal activity-based mechanism for hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal, CHRM4 as a therapeutic target for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and the vitamin B6 pathway as a dependency in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that coordinates nucleotide and putrescine metabolism with minimal myelosuppression upon targeting. The lab employs functional genomics, metabolomics, circuit mapping, and optogenetics to identify drug targets and translate findings into therapeutics for refractory anemia, myelodysplasia, and leukemia through collaborations with medicinal chemists at a spin-off company.

Zhang has received prestigious awards including the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute MERIT Award, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Idea Development Award, National Institutes of Health Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub Awards, and the Edward P. Evans Foundation EvansMDS Young Investigator Award. His influential publications encompass 'Metabolism in acute myeloid leukemia: mechanistic insights and therapeutic targets' (Blood, 2022), 'Targeting low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome with novel therapeutic strategies' (Trends in Molecular Medicine, 2021), 'Vitamin B6 Addiction in Acute Myeloid Leukemia' (Cancer Cell, 2020), 'Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor regulates self-renewal of early erythroid progenitors' (Science Translational Medicine, 2019), and 'ZFP36L2 is required for self-renewal of early burst-forming unit erythroid progenitors' (Nature, 2013). He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biology of Cancer at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and MIT. His work advances understanding of environmental signals like diet and neuronal activity in stem cell development and cancer, paving the way for novel treatments in blood cancers.