Hanrui Zhang, PhD

  • Assistant Professor of Medical Sciences (in Medicine)
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Overview

Dr. Hanrui Zhang is a macrophage biologist. She completed her PhD training in 2011 at the University of Missouri. Her graduate work centered on the crosstalk between immune cells and blood vessels in diabetes-associated vascular diseases. Her postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania continued to address the mechanisms of cardiometabolic diseases focusing on macrophage lipid metabolism and inflammation using gene targeting in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) with differentiation to macrophages.

The Zhang laboratory (https://hanruizhang.github.io/zhanglab/) in the Department of Medicine – Cardiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center seeks to understand the dynamic role of macrophages in cardiometabolic diseases with the aim of finding novel mechanisms and new treatments. The laboratory applies technologies for high-throughput functional genomics, human iPSC and CRISPR gene editing, transgenic mouse models, human genetics, and a variety of cell and molecular techniques.

Academic Appointments

  • Assistant Professor of Medical Sciences (in Medicine)

Gender

  • Female

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • PhD, 2011 Pharmacology, University of Missouri - Columbia

Committees, Societies, Councils

2007-Present

Member, American Heart Association (AHA)

2012-2016

Member, ATVB Early Career Committee (ECC)

2012-2016

Liaison, ATVB Women’s Leadership Committee (WLC)

2016-Present

Member, ATVB Women’s Leadership Committee (WLC)

Research

The goal of the Zhang laboratory is to elucidate the mechanisms and therapeutic implications of macrophage heterogeneity and plasticity in cardiometabolic diseases.

The Zhang laboratory in the Department of Medicine – Cardiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center seeks to understand the dynamic role of macrophages in cardiometabolic diseases with the aim of finding novel mechanisms and new treatments. The laboratory applies technologies for high-throughput functional genomics, human iPSC and CRISPR gene editing, transgenic mouse models, human genetics, and a variety of cell and molecular techniques.

The main areas of study in the laboratory include: (1) Functional genomics and mechanistic studies of candidate genes and genetic variants inspired by human genome-wide association studies of cardiometabolic traits; (2) Unbiased CRISPR screen in primary macrophages to discover novel regulators and pathways of macrophage efferocytosis and investigate their roles in atherosclerosis; (3) Disease modeling and functional genomic studies in human iPSC-derived macrophages.

Selected Publications

  • Shi J,# Wu X,# Wang Z, Li F, Meng Y, Moore RM, Cui J, Xue C, Croce KR, Yurdagul Jr A, Doench JG, Li W, Zarbalis KS, Tabas I, Yamamoto A, Zhang H *, A Genome-wide CRISPR Screen Identifies WDFY3 as a Novel Regulator of Macrophage Efferocytosis. BioRxiv/2022.01.21.477299. 
  • Zhang H *, Wolf D *. Break on Through to the Other Side: How Trained Monocytes Promote Recovery From Hind Limb Ischemia. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2021 Dec 23;ATVBAHA121317257. 
  • Zhang H *, Chen ZB, Fredman G, Gomez D, Grumbach IM, Huang NF, Nguyen PKP, Ouimet M, Sutton NR, Aikawa E. What Makes a Great Mentor: Interviews With Recipients of the ATVB Mentor of Women Award. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2021 Nov;41(11):2641-2647. 
  • Miller, CL *, Zhang H *. Clarifying the distinct roles of smooth muscle cell-derived vs macrophage foam cells and the implications in atherosclerosis. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2021. 41 (6), 2035-2037.
  • Li F, Shi J, Lu HS, Zhang H*. Functional Genomics and CRISPR Applied to Cardiovascular Research and Medicine. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2019 Sep;39(9):e188-e194.
  • Li F, Zhang H*. Lysosomal Acid Lipase in Lipid Metabolism and Beyond. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2019 Mar 14:ATVBAHA119312136.
  • Shi J, Xue C, Liu W, Zhang H*. Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Macrophages For Disease Modeling and Functional Genomics. Current Protocols in Stem Cell Biology. 2019 Feb;48(1):e74.
  • Westerterp M, Fotakis P, Ouimet M, Bochem AE, Zhang H, Molusky MM, Wang W, Abramowicz S, la Bastide-van Gemert S, Wang N, Welch CL, Reilly MP, Stroes ES, Moore KJ, Tall AR. Cholesterol Efflux Pathways Suppress Inflammasome Activation, NETosis and Atherogenesis. Circulation. 2018 Aug 28;138(9):898-912.
  • Zhang H*, Reilly M*. Who done it? Macrophage Mayhem in Atherosclerosis. Circ Res. 2018 Oct 26;123(10):1106-1108.
  • Zhang H*, Xue C, Wang Y, Shi J, Zhang X, Li W, Nunez S, Foulkes AS, Lin J, Hinkle CC, Yang W, Morrisey EE, Rader DJ, Li M, and Reilly MP*. Deep RNA-sequencing uncovers a repertoire of human macrophage lincRNAs that is modulated by macrophage activation and associates with cardiometabolic diseases. J Am Heart Assoc. 2017 Nov 13;6(11).
  • Zhang H*, Shi J, Hachet MA, Xue C, Bauer RC, Jiang H, Li W, Tohyama J, Millar J, Billheimer J, Phillips MC, Razani B, Rader DJ, Reilly MP. CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Gene Editing in Human iPSC-Derived Macrophage Reveals Lysosomal Acid Lipase Function in Human Macrophages. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2017 Nov;37(11):2156-2160.
  • Nurnberg ST, Zhang H, Hand NJ, Bauer RC, Saleheen D, Reilly MP and Rader DJ. From Loci to Biology: Functional Genomics of Genome-Wide Association for Coronary Disease. Circulation Research. 2016;118:586-606.
  • Zhang H, Xue C, Shah R, Bermingham K, Hinkle CC, Li W, Rodrigues A, Tabita-Martinez J, Millar JS, Cuchel M, Pashos EE, Liu Y, Yan R, Yang W, Gosai SJ, VanDorn D, Chou ST, Gregory BD, Morrisey EE, Li M, Rader DJ, Reilly MP. Functional analysis and transcriptomic profiling of iPSC-derived macrophages and their application in modeling Mendelian disease. Circulation Research. 2015 Jun 19;117(1):17-28.

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov