Chenming (Mike) Zhang

Courses Taught Last Five Years

• BSE 3524 - Unit operations in BSE
• BSE 4534 – Bioprocess engineering lab
• BSE 4544 - Protein separation engineering
• BSE 5544 – Advanced protein separation engineering
• BSE 5614 - Advances in recombinant protein production

Program Focus

My research program has three main focuses:

1) Protein expression and purification. In this focus area, our main goal is to express certain proteins in selected expression system and develop economical processes for the recovery and purification of the recombinant proteins.

2) Nanovaccines against psychoactive compounds. In this area, our main goal is to synthesize uniquely structured nanoparticles as vaccines against psychoactive compounds, such as nicotine and opioids.

3) Vaccine against infectious diseases. In this area, our main goal is to develop vaccines against an important animal disease, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). 

(* undergraduate student, ** graduate student, *** post-doc)

Reviewed Journals

• Tanniche, I., Fisher, A., Gillam, F.*, Collakova, E., Zhang, C., Bevan, D., Senger, R. 2022. Lambda-PCR for precise DNA assembly and modification. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 119:3657–3667.
  
• Saylor, K.*, Donnan, B.*, Zhang, C. 2022. Computational Mining of MHC class II Epitopes for the Development of a Universal Carrier Protein. PLOS One. 17(3): e0265644. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265644.
• Hu, Y.*, Zhao, Z.*, Ehrich, M., Zhang, C. 2021. Formulation of nanovaccines toward an extended immunity against nicotine. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 13(24):27972-27982. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c07049
• Hu, Y.*, Smith, D.*, Frazier, E.*, Zhao, Z.*, Zhang, C. 2021. Toll-like receptor 9 agonists as adjuvants for nanoparticle-based nicotine vaccine. Molecular Pharmaceutics. 18(3):1293-1304. PMID: 33497574.
• Kyle Saylor,* Alison Waldman,* Frank Gillam,* Chenming Zhang. 2020. Multi-epitope insert modulates solubility-based and chromatographic purification of human papilloma virus 16 L1-based vaccine without inhibiting virus-like particle assembly. Journal of Chromatography A. 1631: 461567. PMID: 32980800.
• Yi Lu,* Frank Gillam,* Qian M. Cao, Amy Rizzo, X. J. Meng, Chenming Zhang. 2020. Hepatitis B core antigen-based vaccine incorporated with both B-cell and T-cell epitopes demonstrates cross-neutralization against heterologous porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. Journal of Virological Methods. 285: 113945. PMID: 32735804.
• Yi Lu,* Sherrie Clark-Deener, Frank Gillam,* Connie Lynn Heffron, Debin Tian, Harini Sooryanarain, Tanya LeRoith, Jessica Zoghby, Mallori Henshaw, Steven Waldrop, Jeremy Pittman, Xiang-Jin Meng, and Chenming Zhang. 2020. Virus-like particle vaccine with B-cell epitope from porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) incorporated into hepatitis B virus core capsid provides clinical alleviation against PEDV in neonatal piglets through lactogenic immunity. Vaccine. 38: 5212-5218. PMID: 32565343.
• Saylor, K.*, Gillam, F.*, Lohneis, T.*, Zhang, C. 2020. Designs of antigen structure and composition for improved protein-based vaccine efficacy. Frontier in Immunology. 11:283. PMID: 32153587 PMCID: PMC7050619
• Hu, Y.*, Smith, D.*, Zhao, Z.*, Harmon, T, Pentel, P.R., Ehrich, M., Zhang, C. 2019. Alum as an adjuvant for nanoparticle based vaccines: a case study with a hybrid nanoparticle-based nicotine vaccine. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine. 2019 Aug. 20:102023. doi: 10.1016/j.nano.2019.102023. Epub 2019 Jun 10. PMID: 31181264 PMCID: PMC6702048
• Zhao, Z.*, Hu, Y.*, Harmon, T., Pentel, P.R., Ehrich, M., Zhang, C. 2019. Effect of adjuvant release rate on the immunogenicity of nanoparticle-based vaccines: A case study with a nanoparticle-based nicotine vaccine. Molecular Pharmaceutics. 16(6): 2766-2775. PMCID: PMC7263372
• Hu, Y.*, Zhao, Z.*, Harmon, T, Pentel, P.R., Ehrich, M., Zhang, C. 2018. Paradox of PEGylation in fabricating hybrid nanoparticle-based nicotine vaccines. Biomaterials. 182: 72-81. PMCID: PMC6203448
• Song, L.*, Zhao, Z.*, Dezort, M.*, Lohneis, T.*, Zhang, C. 2018. Multi-functional nanosystem for targeted and controlled delivery of multiple chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of drug-resistant breast cancer. ACS Omega. 3(8): 9201-9219. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.8b00949. PMID: 30197996. PMCID: PMC6120734.
• Gillam, F.*, Zhang, C. 2018. Epitope selection and their placement for increased virus neutralization in a novel vaccination strategy for porcine epidemic diarrhea Virus utilizing the Hepatitis B virus core antigen. Vaccine. 36: 4507-4516. PMID: 29914846, PMCID: PMC7172244
• Zhao, Z.*, Hu, Y.*, Harmon, T., Pentel, P.R., Ehrich, M., Zhang, C. 2018. Hybrid nanoparticle-based nicotine nanovaccines: Boosting the immunological efficacy by conjugation of potent carrier proteins. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine. 14(5): 1655-1665. PMID: 29719216
• Zhao, Z.*, Harris, B.*, Hu, Y.*, Harmon, T., Pentel, P.R., Ehrich, M., Zhang, C. 2018. Rational incorporation of molecular adjuvants into a hybrid nanoparticle-based nicotine nanovaccine for immunotherapy against nicotine addiction. Biomaterials. 155: 165-175. PMID: 29179132. PMCID: PMC5738287
• Gillam, F.*, Zhang, J., Zhang, C. 2018. Hepatitis B core antigen based novel vaccine against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Journal of Virological Methods. 253: 61-69. PMID: 29129402.
• Huang, W.*, Zhang, C. 2018. Tuning the size of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles fabricated by nanoprecipitation. Biotechnology Journal. 13(1). doi:10.1002/biot.201700203. PMCID: PMC5924600
• Zhao, Z.*, Lou, S.*, Hu, Y.*, Zhu, J., Zhang, C. 2017. A nano-in-nano polymer-dendrimer nanoparticle-based nanosystem for controlled multi-drug delivery. Molecular Pharmaceutics. 14(8): 2697-2710.
• Zhao, Z.*, Hu, Y.*, Harmon, T., Pentel, P., Ehrich, M., Zhang, C. 2017. Rationalization of a nanoparticle-based nicotine nanovaccine as an effective next-generation nicotine vaccine: a focus on hapten localization. Biomaterials. 138: 46-56. PMCID: PMC5544940
• Zhao, Z.*, Powers, K.*, Hu, Y., Raleigh, M., Pentel, P., Zhang, C. 2017. Engineering of a hybrid nanoparticle-based nicotine nanovaccine as a next-generation immunotherapeutic strategy against nicotine addiction: a focus on hapten density. Biomaterials. 123: 107-117. PMCID: PMC5344186
• Zhao, Z.*, Hu, Y.*, Hoerle, R.*, Devine, M.*, Raleigh, M., Pentel, P., Zhang, C. 2017. A nanoparticle-based nicotine vaccine and the influence of particle size on its immunogenicity and efficacy. Nanomedicine-Nanotechnology Biology and Medicine. 13(2):443-454. PMID: 27520729. PMCID: PMC5298946

Oral Presentations

• Riley DeHority,* Yuanzhi Bian,* Cochran, Kari,* Chenming Zhang. 2022. Simulated Docking Confirms pH-Dependent Binding Specificity of Cathepsin S. 9th Annual Southeast Immunology Symposium. Durham, NC, June 11-12, 2022.
• Debra L. Walter,* He Hu,* Fatima A. Hamid, Yuanzhi Bian,* Matthew Kim,* Marion Ehrich, Scott Runyon, Marco Pravetoni and Chenming Zhang. 2022. Preliminary Study of the Immunogenicity of Hybrid Nanoparticle-based Oxycodone Vaccines. 3rd Annual NIH HEAL Investigator Meeting, April 11-12.
• Chenming Zhang. 2021. Multi-epitope Insert Modulates Solubility-based and Chromatographic Purification of Human Papilloma Virus 16 L1-based Vaccine without Inhibiting Virus-like Particle Assembly. May 12, 2021. PEGS-Boston: The Essential Protein Engineering & Cell Therapy Summit. May 11-13.
• Chenming Zhang. 2021. Vaccines against non-immunogenic compounds and the factors affecting their immunogenicity. Arizona State University Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines, and Virotherapy (B-CIVV), Biodesign Institute. April 7.
• Kyle L. Saylor,* Ben Donnan,* Chenming Zhang. 2020. In silico design of a universal carrier protein: A potential solution to the variable immunogenicity observed in past vaccines against drugs of abuse. Immunology 2020, May 8-12, Honolulu, Hawai’i.
• Kyle L. Saylor,* Ben Donnan,* Chenming Zhang. 2020. In silico Epitope Mining and the Search for a Universal Carrier Protein. NIDA Genetics and Epigenetics meeting, January 13-14, Rockville, MD.
• Yi Lu,* Frank Gillam,* Chenming Zhang. 2019. Modification of sarkosyl concentration to facilitate virus like particle (VLP) purification through diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) chromatography. 32nd International Symposium on Preparative and Process Chromatography (PREP 2019). International Symposium. July 7-10, 2019, Baltimore, MD.
• Kyle Saylor,* Alison Waldman,* Frank Gillam,* Chenming Zhang. 2019. Major histocompatibility complex class II multi-epitope insert improves anion exchange chromatography purification of human papilloma virus 16 L1 protein expressed in E. coli without affecting folding efficiency. 32nd International Symposium on Preparative and Process Chromatography (PREP 2019). International Symposium. July 7-10, 2019, Baltimore, MD.
• Zongmin Zhao, Kyle Saylor, Yun Hu, Theresa Harmon, Paul Pentel, Marion Ehrich, Chenming (Mike) Zhang. 2019. The influence of carrier proteins on the immunological efficacy of nanoparticle-based vaccines against nicotine addiction. NIDA Genetics Consortium, Jan. 14-15, 2019, Rockville, MD.
• Kyle Saylor, Chenming Zhang. 2018. PBPK Modeling: A Novel, In Silico Method for Predicting Nicotine Vaccine Efficacy. 2018 Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE) annual meeting, Norfolk, VA, April 5-7, 2018.
• M. Ehirch, BS Jortner, J. Hinckley, S. Werre, K. Boes, Z. Zhao, Y. Hu, C. Zhang. 2018. Safety in mice of a nanovaccine against nicotine addiction. 2018 Annual Society of Toxicology Meeting. March 11-15, 2018. San Antonio, TX.

Current:

• Development of a safe and effective nanoparticle-based vaccine against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. USDA-NIFA #2021-08581. Zhang (PI), XJ Meng. 1/1/22-12/31/25
• Novel nanovaccines against opioid use disorders. NIH/NIDA UG3DA048775. Zhang (PI), Pravetoni, M. (PI), Ehrich, M., etc. 7/15/19-6/30/23

Recent:

• Development of recombinant universal vaccines against PRRS. Smithfield-Murphy Brown. Zhang (PI). 10/1/14-12/31/21
• Novel nanovaccines against nicotine addiction. NIH/NIDA U01 DA036850. Zhang (PI), Ehrich, M., Pentel, P.  7/1/14-5/31/18