POSITION TITLE:

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, The Rockefeller University, New York, USA
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, INSERM, Imagine Institute, Paris, France

A. Personal Statement

I have been trained in the field of Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEIs) for the last 15 years. I received my clinical training in the Medical School and Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, during which I practiced in the only clinic specialized in IEIs in Shanghai under the mentoring of Dr. Xiaochuan Wang. I decided to pursue research after my clinical training and joined the research team lead by Dr. Helen Su at the NIH as a postdoctoral fellow. My postdoctoral training equipped me with techniques in molecular biology, biochemistry, and human genetics. With the team, I discovered a new IEI caused by DOCK8 deficiency. More importantly, I discovered a new signaling pathway that controls cell migration and integrity in 3D tissues, which highlights the importance of tissue-specific immunity. After my postdoctoral training, I started my own research lab at the Sidra Medical and Research Center. I was awarded with funding from the National Priorities Research Program. Meanwhile, I established international collaboration with research labs in the US, China, and Europe. I frequently attended and spoke in a variety of international meetings in the field, including annual meetings of Clinical Immunology Society (CIS), European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID), and the Gordon conference, and was elected as the member of the Henry Kunkel Society (HKS) in 2019. In 2018, I relocated to Rockefeller University, where I sought to develop a research team focusing on IEIs that lead to severe respiratory viral infections in Jean-Laurent Casanova’s lab. In 2021, I was recruited as INSERM research in the lab Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases led by Jean-Laurent Casanova and Laurent Abel, and I was promoted to Assistant Professor of Clinical Investigation at Rockefeller in early 2023. Most recently, I focus my research on patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and contributed to the discovery of IEIs and autoantibodies in the type I IFN immunity. In summary, I have the training, expertise, and long-term interests in the field of IEIs. 

Ongoing and recently completed projects:

NIAID, NIH, R01AI163029    Casanova J.-L., Zhang Q., & Zhang S.-Y.                           07/2021-06/2026

Inborn errors of immunity in patients with life-threatening COVID-19

American Lung Association, COVID -1026207 Casanova J.-L., Zhang Q.                             07.2023-06/2025

Autoantibodies to interferons in patients with emerging viral pneumonia

French & German National Research Agency, GENFLU-AAP    Zhang Q. & Schwemmle M.

Genetic predisposition and anti-IFN autoantibodies underlying zoonotic influenza 01/2023-12/2025                                                                                                                                       

Rockefeller University Center for Clinical and Translational Science    Zhang Q.               08/2022-10/2023

Inborn errors of translation re-initiation in humans with Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases

French National Research Agency, AAILC-ANR-21-LIBA-0002 Zhang Q. & El Zein L.          04/2022-05/2023

Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in Lebanese patients hospitalized with COVID-19                

NIAID, NIH, R01AI088364, Supplement Casanova J.-L., Zhang Q., & Zhang S.-Y.           07/2020-03/2023

Monogenic basis of resistance to SARS-CoV2 and predisposition to severe COVID-19            

Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF) Zhang Q.                       09/2020-09/2021

Inborn errors of type I interferon immunity: a molecular, cellular, and clinical study

Robertson Therapeutic Development Fund (RTDF), Proof-of-Concept Zhang Q.            01/2020-12/2021

Ultrasensitive detection of neutralizing autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with severe COVID-19

Fast Fund for COVID-19, Mercatus Center, George Mason University Zhang Q.                04/2020-04/2021

Monogenic etiologies for rare individuals naturally resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infections, as well as young and previously healthy individuals who suffered from life-threatening COVID-19

National Priorities Research Program, Qatar, NPRP10-0206-170359 Zhang Q.           06/2018-06/2021

Develop functional screening and genetic diagnosis for inborn errors in the NF-kappaB pathways

B. Positions and Honors

Positions and Employment

2023-now  Assistant Professor in Clinical Investigation, St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller University, New York, USA.

2021-now Assistant Professor (CRCN, CCS5, INSERM), Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, INSERM U1163, Imagine Institute, Paris, France.

2018-2023 Research Associate, St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller University, New York, USA.

2016-2017 Principal Investigator, Translational Medicine Division, Sidra Medical and Research Center, Doha, Qatar.