Personal Introduction

The shortage of actionable novel drug targets for molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy, together with the widespread emergence of therapeutic resistance, constitutes a core bottleneck in oncology research and clinical practice. Our team explores the mechanistic regulations underlying tumor initiation, progression and treatment resistance from an innovative perspective, utilizing a self-developed metabolomics-based integrated multiomics analytical system. This research strategy is dedicated to identifying original therapeutic targets and targets for overcoming drug resistance, as well as facilitating the research and development of novel anti-cancer drugs.

Dr. Liang Zhu earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1997 and Master’s degree in 2000. He subsequently joined Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine as a teaching assistant and then a lecturer. In 2007, he was awarded his PhD in Pharmacology from the university. From 2008 to 2010, he completed postdoctoral training at the Institute of Biology Valrose, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France. Currently, Dr. Zhu serves as Professor of Pharmacology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. He is also the Principal Investigator leading the Cancer Pharmacology and Metabolomics Research Group.

Publications:

1. Liu, Y., et al. (2026). "Targeting AKR1B1 reprograms tumor-associated macrophages to enhance antitumor immunity." J Immunother Cancer 14(1).（Last corresponding author）

2. Xia, R. X., et al. (2025). "Dependence of NPPS creates a targetable vulnerability in RAS-mutant cancers." Acta Pharmacol Sin 46(3): 728-739.（Co-corresponding author）

3. Aihemaiti, A., et al. (2025). "Simultaneous determination of canonical purine metabolism using a newly developed HILIC-MS/MS in cultured cells." J Pharm Biomed Anal 252: 116468. （Co-corresponding author）

4. Lv, Q. M., et al. (2023). "Cancer cell-autonomous cGAS-STING response confers drug resistance." Cell Chem Biol 30(6): 591-605 e594（Last corresponding author）

5. Zhang, K.R., et al (2021). Targeting AKR1B1 inhibits glutathione de novo synthesis to overcome acquired resistance to EGFR targeted therapy in lung cancer. Sci Trans Med. 13(614): eabg6428（Last corresponding author）

6. Ma, C. S., et al. (2021). “NRF2-GPX4/SOD2 axis imparts resistance to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small-cell lung cancer cells.” Acta Pharmacol Sin. 42: 613-23（Last corresponding author）

7. Zhang, Y. F., et al. (2020). "Development and validation of a rapid, robust and sensitive UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of GSH metabolism in lung cancer cells." J Chromatogr B. 1148: 122145（Last corresponding author）