REAEARCH INTERESTS

• Metabolic interactions between symbionts and ticks
• Molecular mechanisms of pathogen resistance and transmission in ticks
• Molecular mechanisms of tick development and feeding biology

EDUCATION

• Fudan University                                                            Shanghai, China

M.Sc./Ph.D. in Microbiology                                             Sept 2017- June 2022

• Nanjing University of Science and Technology             Nanjing, China

B.Sc. in Bioengineering                                                     Sept 2013- June 2017

WORK EXPERIENCE                                       

• Shanghai Jiao Tong University                                        Shanghai, China

Associate Professor (Ph.D. Supervisor)                              June 2025- Present

• Fudan University                                                             Shanghai, China

Postdoctoral Research Fellow                                            July 2022- May 2025

PUBLICATIONS (# Co-first author)                                         

• Zhong Z, Zhong T, Peng Y, Zhou X, Wang Z, Tang H, Wang J^*. Symbiont-regulated serotonin biosynthesis modulates tick feeding activity, Cell Host & Microbe, 2021.
• Zhong Z^#, Wang K^#, Zhong T, Wang J^*. Mitochondrial Fission Regulates Midgut Muscle Assembly and Tick Feeding Capacity, Cell Reports, 2025.
• Zhong Z^#, Wang K^#, Wang J^*. Tick symbiosis, Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2023.
• Xu Y^#, Zhong Z^#, Ren Y^#, Ma L, Ye Z, Gao C, Wang J^*, Li Y^*. Antiviral RNA interference in disease vector ticks, PLoS Pathog, 2021.
• Song X^#, Zhong Z^#, Gao L^#, Weiss BL, Wang J^*. Metabolic interactions between disease-transmitting vectors and their microbiota, Trends Parasitol, 2022.
• Wang M, Zhu D, Dai J, Zhong Z, Zhang Y, Wang J^*. Tissue Localization and Variation of Major Symbionts in Haemaphysalis longicornis, Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides, and Dermacentor silvarum in China, Appl Environ Microbiol, 2018.
• Xu B, Gu M, Wu Q, Shu C, Tan W, Wang S, Zhong Z, Wang X, Li J, Wang J, Wang Y, Hu W^*. The bacterial patterns suggesting the dynamic features of tick-associated microorganisms in hard ticks, BMC Microbiol, 2024.

GRANTS                                                  

• Principal Investigator, Talent Attraction Program (Start-up Funding), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, June 2025- June 2028.
• Principal Investigator, National Natural Science Foundation of China (Youth Program), Jan 2024- Dec 2025. Funding: ¥ 200,000.
• Principal Investigator, Young Elite Scientist Sponsorship Program, Nov 2022- Dec 2024. Funding: ¥ 300,000.
• Principal Investigator, Special Funding from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Batch 16), Sept 2023- Mar 2025. Funding: ¥ 160,000.
• Principal Investigator, General Financial Support from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Batch 73), Sept 2023- Mar 2025. Funding: ¥ 80,000.
• Principal Investigator, Shanghai Postdoctoral Excellence Program, Sept 2022- June 2024. Funding: ¥ 300,000.

AWARDS AND HONORS                                     

• Young Elite Scientist Sponsorship Program (8^th Batch), CAST, 2022.
• Shanghai Postdoctoral Excellence Program, Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau (SHRSSB), 2022.
• Outstanding PhD Thesis Award, Fudan University, 2023.
• Shanghai Excellent Graduate Student, Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (SMEC), 2022.
• National Scholarship for Doctoral Students, Ministry of Education of China, 2021.