Xin Zeng

Built a team of 10 scientists from scratch to work on target validation and lead discovery in both small molecule and siRNA drug development. Perform in vitro and in vivo pharmacology experiments and integrate data to support preclinical candidate selection and human dose prediction and IND. Manage internal resources and the external CROs and other industrial partners. Delivered several pre-clinical candidates in small molecule and siRNA for oncology and immunology. Two of them are currently in Phase I trials and others are in IND enabling stage.

Lead discovery through biochemical and cellular assay development and high throughput screen to support oncology and immunology projects. Target validation and drug repurposing using human genetics and genomics tools. Define discovery strategies. Target validation through CRISPR screen and KO. Translational Biomarker identification using human primary cells. Technology innovation (DNA encoded library screen against membrane targets) and various new screening platforms (imaging, transcriptomics etc).

I had worked on signaling mechanisms of hedgehog and Wnt pathways. I discovered the phosphorylation code on Wnt receptor LRP5/6 that, upon Wnt stimulation, engage the intracellular complex and transduce signal to oncogene beta-catenin. The findings led to a series of publications on Nature (first author) and other high impact journals and are highly cited (Zeng et al, Nature, 2001, Zeng et al, Nature, 2006; Tamai and Zeng, et al, Mol. Cell, 2004; Zeng et al, Development, 2008) Until today, beta-catenin is still one of the most desirable targets in the Oncology field and is still refractory conventional small molecule drugs. Understanding the signaling components and their complex MOAs helps to identify alternative MOAs to target.

Postdoctoral fellow in cellular signaling in Cancer biology