Zhi Sheng, Ph.D.
“The world is desperately seeking new treatments for glioblastoma. Precision medicine is the future.”
Breaking down cancer’s resistance
Why are some cancers immune to conventional therapies?
Dr. Zhi Sheng’s laboratory explores new and effective cancer therapies by dissecting molecular pathways that orchestrate cell survival and/or death and overcoming drug resistance in cancer.
Sheng and his researchers are particularly focused on glioblastoma multiforme, a lethal and incurable brain cancer that often recurs after conventional therapies such as resection, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Recent research findings from the Sheng Laboratory indicate that targeting the enzyme PIK3CB (a catalytic subunit of PI3K) selectively inhibits cell viability, making this gene a potential therapeutic target for Glioblastoma. The lab’s ongoing and future research aims to elucidate the mechanism underlying the selectivity of targeting PI3K in glioblastoma and developing therapies tailored to GBM patients with a high risk of recurrence.
By using a large-scale RNA interference screening, Dr. Sheng and his team identified 82 genes (termed autophagy-regulating genes, ARGs) that regulate autophagy (the body’s cleaning out of damaged cells) in cancer. Of particular interest to the researchers is an ARG named long non-coding RNA 00467, which is an RNA gene with no protein-coding potential. The scientists are currently probing the molecular underpinnings of noncoding RNA-regulated autophagy in cancer and exploring the therapeutic potential of this new autophagy regulatory pathway in antagonizing drug resistance.
Dr. Sheng’s laboratory also collaborates with Dr. Robert Gourdie, who developed the FDA-approved wound-healing drug ACT1 that targets connexin 43. The scientists repurposed ACT1 into a possible treatment to circumvent the resistance of glioblastoma to temozolomide, a DNA alkylating agent used as the front line treatment. Future studies include unveiling the molecular mechanism of temozolomide sensitization by ACT1 and implementing ACT1 treatment into the clinic.
zhisheng@vtc.vt.edu
540-526-2042
R-2005, Riverside 2
- Assistant Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine
Sheng KL, Pridham KJ, Sheng Z, Lamouille S, Varghese RT. (2019). Functional Blockade of the Small GTPase RAN Inhibits Glioblastoma Viability. Frontiers in Oncology 8: 662.
Liang Y, Dearnaley WJ, Alden NA, Solares MJ, Gilmore BL, Pridham KJ, Varano AC, Sheng Z, Alli E, Kelly DF. (2019). Correcting Errors in the BRCA1 Warning System. DNA Repair 73: 120-128.
Varghese RT, Young S, Pham LC, Liang Y, Pridham KJ, Guo S, Murphy SF, Kelly DF, and Sheng Z. (2018). Casein Kinase 1 Epsilon Regulates Glioblastoma Cell Survival. Scientific Reports 8(1).
- Pathologist, Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University
- Lecturer, Department of Pathology, Anhui Medical University
- University of Massachusetts Medical School: Postdoctoral fellowship, Molecular Cancer Biology
- State University of New York Downstate Medical Center: Ph.D., Molecular and Cell Biology
- Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University: M.S., Biochemistry
- Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University: B.S,. Forensic Science
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Article ItemMedical students awarded prestigious summer research fellowships , article
Patrick Beck will work on immunotherapies for brain cancer at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, while Kasen Hutchings will pursue clinical practice with radiology related cancer treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Date: Jun 09, 2022 -
Article ItemRare disease research gives families hope, ‘vital’ to advancing medicine , article
Rare diseases afflict 300 million people worldwide. Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC researchers are bridging a gap in scientific knowledge by studying some of the diseases that together add up to a formidable public health challenge. Feb. 28 marks the 14th international Rare Disease Day.
Date: Feb 28, 2022 -
Article ItemScientists at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute develop new strategy for brain cancer treatment , article
In a new study published in Oncogenesis, Zhi Sheng and Rob Gourdie of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC describe how two protein-targeting drugs – when combined with chemotherapy – yield synergistic cytotoxicity to treatment-resistant glioblastoma.
Date: Jan 13, 2022 -
Article ItemHundreds of STEM high school students to compete at Virginia Science and Engineering Fair , article
Hosted by volunteers from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, 274 students will present their projects on April 6 at the Berglund Special Events Center in Roanoke.
Date: Apr 04, 2019 -
Article ItemVTCRI research team identifies a potential strategy in fight against brain cancer , article
Scientists with the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute say a gene involved in the body’s sleep cycle is a potential target for therapies to help patients with a deadly form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma.
Date: Sep 24, 2018 -
Article ItemVTCRI scientist earns third concurrent grant from the National Cancer Institute to study breast cancer , article
Deb Kelly, who is also an associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, is working to better detect, prevent, and repair the mutations found in cancers related to the breast cancer susceptibility protein, BRCA1.
Date: Jul 10, 2018 -
Article ItemFirst students earn degrees through innovative translational biology, medicine, and health program , article
The program is based on the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, and it positions students to conduct research in more than 50 departments and institutes across Virginia Tech.
Date: May 09, 2018 -
Article ItemCarmouche and Sheng receive 2018 VTCSOM Outstanding Research Mentor Awards , article
Students and alumni nominated individuals who provided clear expectations and high standards for students to conduct original hypothesis-driven research effectively and provide opportunities for professional growth.
Date: Apr 04, 2018 -
Article ItemVTCRI scientist awarded $2 million National Cancer Institute grant to study breast cancer , article
The National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health has awarded Deborah Kelly, an associate professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, $2 million to study the mutated form of the breast cancer susceptibility protein that is implicated in hereditary breast cancer.
Date: Mar 29, 2018 -
Article ItemVTCRI scientists identify new target for developing precision treatment in malignant brain tumors , article
Currently, no standard of care exists to prevent or treat recurrent malignant primary brain tumors in patients.
Date: Jan 30, 2018 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists decode breast cancer protein , article
Their results, published this week in Science Advances, suggest a new paradigm for better managing the mutated BRCA1 protein found in triple-negative breast cancer cells. Triple-negative breast cancer is aggressive, as its tumor cells typically lack target receptors that allow cancer-fighting drugs to be effective.
Date: Sep 20, 2017 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute teams converge on strategies to defeat McCain’s form of brain cancer , article
Research teams at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute from three colleges — Engineering, Science, and Veterinary Medicine — are developing new approaches to treat glioblastoma, the aggressive form of brain cancer recently diagnosed in U.S. Sen. John McCain.
Date: Jul 24, 2017 -
Article ItemThird medical student earns St. Baldrick’s fellowship to study cancer at the VTC Research Institute , article
Lamvy Le is the third medical student at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine to receive the grant, which will support her research in therapies that could potentially treat pediatric brain cancer.
Date: Jul 17, 2017 -
Article ItemMedical student earns 2 national fellowships to conduct brain cancer research , article
Pratik Kanabur said he will study new ways to potentially treat children’s malignant brain cancer with Assistant Professor Zhi Sheng at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
Date: Apr 27, 2016 -
Article ItemMedical students to present four years of research at annual symposium , article
The third annual Medical Student Research Symposium at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine will feature the culmination of four years of research by 42 students.
Date: Mar 21, 2016 -
Article ItemResearchers find way to make resistant brain cancer cells sensitive to treatment , article
Scientists from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and clinicians from Carilion Clinic have discovered how to sensitize drug-resistant human glioblastoma cells to chemotherapy.
Date: Nov 16, 2015 -
Article ItemScientist receives grant to study underpinnings of hard-to-treat, hereditary breast cancer , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientist awarded $1.8 million grant to study structure of BRCA1 proteins and mutations.
Date: Sep 11, 2015 -
Article ItemScientists visualize potential brain cancer treatments in real time , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists have developed new imaging techniques to watch dangerous brain tumor cells respond to treatment in real time.
Date: Apr 10, 2015 -
Article ItemGoing viral: Targeting brain cancer cells with a wound-healing drug , article
At the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, three scientists are planning to create a virus capable of destroying brain cancer. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but it isn’t hypothetical – the researchers were recently awarded a grant from the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund, part of the Center for Innovative Technology, to engineer a viral therapy.
Date: Jan 05, 2015 -
Article ItemResearchers to study mechanisms of hard-to-solve, hereditary breast cancer to find treatment option , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists to investigate BRCA1-related cancers.
Date: Jul 29, 2014
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