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Jianye Zhang

Jianye Zhang

Assistant Project Scientist, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, Irvine

Biography

Jianye Zhang, Ph.D., is an Assistant Project Scientist in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine. Zhang's research focuses on developing therapeutic approaches for inherited retinal diseases, including genome editing strategies using CRISPR-Cas9 technology and the design and synthesis of drug candidates targeting retinal degeneration. His work encompasses the enzymology of vertebrate vision, particularly the visual chromophore regeneration pathway, and the development of high-throughput drug screening methods for identifying inhibitors of retinol dehydrogenases.

Prior to joining UC Irvine in 2018, Zhang served as a Research Associate and Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Pharmacology at Case Western Reserve University from 2011 to 2018, where he designed and synthesized therapeutic drug candidates against retinal degeneration. His earlier research during his doctoral studies investigated the mechanisms of protein modifications by carbonyl species derived from sugars and lipids and their biological consequences in aging-related diseases.

Zhang received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 2011, his M.S. in Organic Chemistry from Wuhan University in 2003, and his B.A. in Chemistry from Wuhan University in 2000. He received the Excellence in Research Award from the Department of Pharmacology at Case Western Reserve University in 2016.

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Education

  • Ph.D. in Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, 2011
  • M.S. in Organic Chemistry, Wuhan University, 2003
  • B.A. in Chemistry, Wuhan University, 2000
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Distinctions

  • Excellence in Research Award, Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, 2016
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Areas of Expertise

  • Retinal Degeneration Therapeutics
  • Visual Cycle Enzymology
  • Retinoid Isomerase Catalytic Mechanisms
  • Pharmacokinetics of Ophthalmic Drugs
  • CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing Delivery
  • Prime Editor mRNA Purification
  • Luminescence-Based High Throughput Screening

Recent Publications

  • Shi C, Eskandari R, Zhang J, Zhang G, Li L, “The unique reactivity of EKODE lipid peroxidation products allows in vivo detection of inflammation”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 122, no. 6, 2025.
  • Leinonen H, Zhang J, Occelli LM, Seemab U, Choi EH, “A mutation-agnostic treatment for inherited retinal degenerations by drug repurposing”, Nature Communications, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 5943, 2024.
  • Hong JD, Salom D, Choi EH, Du SW, Tworak A, Smidak R, Gao F, Solano YJ, Zhang J, Kiser PD, Palczewski K, “Retinylidene chromophore hydrolysis from mammalian visual and non-visual opsins”, Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 300, no. 3, pp. 105678, 2024.
  • Engfer ZJ, Lewandowski D, Dong Z, Palczewska G, Zhang J, “Distinct mouse models of Stargardt disease display differences in pharmacological targeting of ceramides and inflammatory responses”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 120, no. 50, 2023.
  • Bassetto M, Zaluski J, Li B, Zhang J, Badiee M, “Tuning the Metabolic Stability of Visual Cycle Modulators through Modification of an RPE65 Recognition Motif”, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 66, no. 12, pp. 8140-8158, 2023.
  • Huh CYL, Leinonen H, Nakayama T, Tomasello JR, Zhang J, “Retinoid therapy restores eye-specific cortical responses in adult mice with retinal degeneration”, Current Biology, vol. 32, no. 20, pp. 4538-4546, 2022.
  • Lewandowski D, Foik AT, Smidak R, Choi EH, Zhang J, “Inhibition of ceramide accumulation in AdipoR1-/- mice increases photoreceptor survival and improves vision”, JCI Insight, vol. 7, no. 4, 2022.
  • Blum E, Zhang J, Zaluski J, Einstein DE, Korshin EE, “Rational Alteration of Pharmacokinetics of Chiral Fluorinated and Deuterated Derivatives of Emixustat for Retinal Therapy”, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 64, no. 12, pp. 8287-8302, 2021.
  • Leinonen H, Cheng C, Pitkänen M, Sander CL, Zhang J, “A p97/Valosin-Containing Protein Inhibitor Drug CB-5083 Has a Potent but Reversible Off-Target Effect on Phosphodiesterase-6”, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, vol. 378, no. 1, pp. 31-41, 2021.
  • Yu G, Gao SQ, Dong Z, Sheng L, Sun D, Zhang N, Zhang J, “Peptide Derivatives of Retinylamine Prevent Retinal Degeneration with Minimal Side Effects on Vision in Mice”, Bioconjugate Chemistry, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 572-583, 2021.
  • Blum E, Zhang J, Korshin E, Palczewski K, Gruzman A, “Development of chiral fluorinated alkyl derivatives of emixustat as drug candidates for the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases”, Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, vol. 30, no. 18, pp. 127421, 2020.
  • Palczewska G, Boguslawski J, Stremplewski P, Kornaszewski L, Zhang J, Dong Z, Liang XX, Gratton E, Vogel A, Wojtkowski M, Palczewski K, “Noninvasive two-photon optical biopsy of retinal fluorophores”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 117, no. 36, pp. 22532-22543, 2020.
  • Zhang J, Choi E, Tworak A, Salom D, Sander C, “Photic generation of 11-cis-retinal in bovine retinal pigment epithelium”, Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 294, no. 50, pp. 19137-19154, 2019.
  • Vinberg F, Palczewska G, Zhang J, Komar K, Wojtkowski M, “Sensitivity of Mammalian Cone Photoreceptors to Infrared Light”, Neuroscience, vol. 416, pp. 100-108, 2019.
  • Zhao DY, Pöge M, Morizumi T, Gulati S, Van Eps N, Zhang J, “Cryo-EM structure of the native rhodopsin dimer in nanodiscs”, Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 294, pp. 14215-1423, 2019.
  • Yuanyuan Chen, Yu Chen, Beata Jastrzebska, Marcin Golczak, Zhang J, “A novel small molecule chaperone of rod opsin and its potential therapy for retinal degeneration”, Nature Communications, vol. 9, pp. 1976, 2018.
  • Kiser PD, Zhang J, Sharma A, Angueyra JM, Kolesnikov AV, “Retinoid isomerase inhibitors impair but do not block mammalian cone photoreceptor function”, Journal of General Physiology, vol. 150, pp. 571-590, 2018.
  • Gao S, Kahremany S, Zhang J, Jastrzebska B, Querubin J, “Retinal-chitosan Conjugates Effectively Deliver Active Chromophores to Retinal Photoreceptor Cells in Blind Mice and Dogs”, Molecular Pharmacology, vol. 93, pp. 438-52, 2018.
  • Kiser PD, Zhang J, Badiee M, Kinoshita J, Peachey NS, “Rational Tuning of Visual Cycle Modulator Pharmacodynamics”, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, vol. 362, pp. 131-145, 2017.
  • Penberthy KK, Rival C, Shankman LS, Raymond MH, Zhang J, “Context-dependent compensation among phosphatidylserine-recognition receptors”, Scientific Report, vol. 7, pp. 14623, 2017.
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Contact Information

Email: jianyez2@uci.edu

Phone: (949) 824-2020

Address: 2216 Gillespie

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This profile was created with the help of AI.

Last updated on 5/19/2026.