Nan Zhang

Working on oligotherapy (siRNA/miRNA), tLNP and tissue/cell-type specific expression control

Responsible for: (1) recruiting and managing the biology R&D team (of 8-11); (2) leading neurological pipeline development, designing siRNA/ASO compounds with chemical modifications, and establishing and supervising in vitro and in vivo assays (animal CNS injections, siRNA tissue distribution and quantification, iPSC neuronal and hepatic differentiations, etc.); and (3) co-leading >5 hepatic pipelines and overseeing projects from in vitro screening to pre-clinical PK/PD studies, with one candidate successfully entering Phase I clinical trial in early 2025.

Research focused on: (1) developing and delivering (naked, conjugated or LNP-packaged) DNAzymes in cell or mouse models of polyglutamine diseases (such as Huntington’s disease and spinocerebellar ataxia types 1 & 3); and (2) investigating DNA damage repair and mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegeneration.

Research focused on: (1) developing and delivering RNA-cleaving CRISPR-Cas13 for treating myotonic dystrophy type 1; and (2) studying patho-mechanisms of spinocerebellar ataxia type 10.

Investigated: (1) in vitro RNA synthesis and damage repair, (2) bacterial transcription regulation, (3) high-resolution structural elucidation, and (4) protein engineering with artificial amino acid insertion.

- Traded equity, FX, fixed income and commodity futures contracts on a CQG platform - Prepared trading strategies and market reports on a weekly basis - Invited by the Bloomberg Institute as one of the top scorers in the July BAT test

- Translated financial documentations - Interpreted for government ministers at NHS conferences