8323 MSRB III, 1150 W. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109
(608)320-9149
Education
● University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ph.D, Environmental Microbiology, Fall 2008
● University of Wisconsin-Madison, Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics, June 2008
● China Agricultural University, M.S., Plant Pathology, July 2001
● China Agricultural University, B.S., Plant Protection, July 1998
Research Experience
Research Associate with Dr. John LiPuma, Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Medical School, University of Michigan, January 2009-present
Study of the lung microbiota in cystic fibrosis
● Modeling the effects of antibiotics on bacterial communities in cystic fibrosis airways
● Characterization of the decade-long bacterial community dynamics in cystic fibrosis airways
● Assessment of the impact of enhanced Staphylococcus DNA extraction on microbial community measures in cystic fibrosis sputum
● Evaluation of the effect of sample storage conditions on culture-independent bacterial community measures in cystic fibrosis sputum specimens
Research Assistant with Dr. William Hickey, UW-Madison, June 2006-August 2008
Investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying phenanthrene degradation in Burkholderia sp.ch1-1 using proteomic, metabolomic, genetic and biochemical approaches
● Identification of 12 catabolic enzymes involved in phenanthrene-protocatechuate pathway from phenanthrene-grown ch1-1 cells using LC-MS/MS
● Study of metabolomics of phenanthrene degradation and Identification of 4 known key metabolites and two novel metabolites in phenanthrene degradation pathway using HPLC, LC-MS and GC-MS
● Characterization of a divergent and versatile ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase in the pathway
● Comparison of phenanthrene degradation pathways in 3 Burkholderia strains from different ecological niches
Research Assistant with Dr. Robert Goodman, UW-Madison, January 2002-May 2006
Characterization of the microbial diversity and physiology in tropical caterpillar midguts using culture-dependent and -independent approaches
● Construction of a metagenomic library using genomic DNA extracted from microorganisms in tropical caterpillar midguts
● Isolation and characterization of a multi-drug resistant Klebsiella sp. strain that produces quorum sensing molecules from tropical caterpillar midguts
● Cloning, sequencing, and disruption of the gene encoding AHL synthesis in this Klebsiella strain
Research Assistant with Dr. Youliang Peng, China Agricultural Univ, Sep 1998-June 2001
Examination of the sod gene function in the pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vacinfectum
● Cloning of the sod gene in Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vacinfectum (Fov) by targeted mRNA differential display
● Development of the restriction enzyme mediated integration system in Fov
● Inactivation of the sod gene in Fov by targeted gene disruption
Publications
● Zhao et al., 2012, Decade-long bacterial community dynamics in cystic fibrosis airways. PNAS, in press
● William Hickey, Shicheng Chen and Jiangchao Zhao, 2012, The phn island: a new genomic island encoding catabolism of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Frontiers in Microbiology, 3: Article 125.
● Zhao et al., 2012, Impact of enhanced Staphylococcus DNA extraction on microbial community measures in cystic fibrosis sputum. PLoS ONE 7(3): e33127.
● Zhao et al., 2011, Effect of sample storage conditions on culture-independent bacterial community measures in cystic fibrosis sputum specimens. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 49: 3717-3718
In preparation
● Zhao et al., 2012, Modeling the effect of antibiotics on bacterial communities in cystic fibrosis airways. In preparation.
● Zhao et al., 2012, Bacterial community dynamics in adolescent patients with cystic fibrosis. In preparation.
● Zhao et al., 2012, Bacterial community dynamics in older patients with cystic fibrosis. In preparation.
● Zhao et al., 2012, The core bacterial communities in cystic fibrosis. In preparation.
● Zhao et al., 2012, Investigations into the diversity and functions of microorganisms in tropical caterpillar midguts using a metagenomic approach. In preparation
● Zhao et al., 2012, Characterization of a moderate alkaliphilic Klebsiella strain that produce quorum sensing molecules. In preparation
Invited presentation
● Zhao, J. Microbial community dynamics in the cystic fibrosis lung. October, 2010, the 21st Annual Pediatric Research Symposium, University of Michigan
