Welcome!
Our research group recently joined the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biointerfaces Institutes at the University of Michigan — Ann Arbor.
Multiple research openings in the lab, please contact us if interested! (Email: guizhiz@med.umich.edu)
Funded by four grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DoD), and American Cancer Society (ACS) (see details below), multiple openings for postdocs, PhD/MS graduate students, technicians/chemists/biologists, and visiting students and scholars are available to work on projects in areas of mRNA vaccines, RNA editing, DNA/RNA immunotherapeutic for cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune diseases. For postdocs and biologists, research experience in one or multiple areas of RNA biology or engineering, vaccine, drug/vaccine/nucleic acid delivery, gene editing, tumor therapy, and animal handling is preferred.
Postdocs who have made good progress will be supported for promotion to Research Assistant Professors or Instructors. Postdocs will be trained and supported to pursue career interests in academia, industry, government, etc.
Prospective postdocs and visiting graduate students, please email CV/Research Experience/Research Plan in one PDF.
Multiple industry-funded openings of postdocs and biologists are expected in the coming months. Should you be interested in developing tumor therapeutic mRNA vaccines, please email CV/Research Experience in one PDF file.
Our research interests lie at the interface of immune-oncology, nucleic acid theranostics, immunotherapy, and functional biomaterials. My current focus is to develop therapeutics and vaccines for combination cancer immunotherapy, infectious disease prevention, and drug abuse treatment. Current primary research directions are listed below. The research is currently funded by multiple federal and local grants from NIH, DoD, ACS, and VCU.
Novel circular RNA (circRNA) and mRNA vaccines for cancer immunotherapy and infectious disease prophylaxis;
Novel nucleic acid immunotherapeutics for cancer immunotherapy (circRNA, immunomodulatory DNA/RNA, gene-editing gRNA, siRNA, aptamer);
ADAR-targeted nucleic acid theranostics and immunomodulators;
cGAS-STING-targeted immunomodulation for the immunotherapy of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis;
Biomaterials for the delivery of therapeutics and vaccines (often nucleic acids, small molecules, and peptides): lipid or polymeric nanocarriers, polymer microneedle patches, and hydrogel.
Research Funding Support
2022 VCU Commercialization Fund
2022-2027 NIH/NCI R01 (topic: vaccine delivery for combination cancer immunotherapy) (total cost: $2.3 M)
2022-2026 Research Scholar Grant, American Cancer Society (topic: novel nucleic acid cancer immunotherapeutics) (total cost: $0.8 M)
2022-2025 DoD/CDMRP/BCRP Breast Cancer Breakthrough Award Level II (topic: circular RNA vaccines for breast cancer immunotherapy) (total cost: $2.2 M)
2022-2026 NIH/NIAID R01 (topic: circular RNA vaccines) (total cost: $2.3 M)
2021-2026 NIH/NIGMS MIRA (R35) (topic: nucleic acid theranostics for ADAR) (total cost: $1.9 M)
2021 VCU Commercialization Fund
2021 VCU Massey Molecules to Medicine pilot grant
2021-2023 METAvivor Early Career Investigator Award
2020-2022 NIH/NINDS R21 (topic: glioblastoma radioimmunotherapy) (total cost: $0.5 M)
2020 VCU COVID-19 Rapid Research fund
2019 Center Grant on Drug Abuse Research pilot grant
2019 Presidential Research Quest Fund, VCU
2019 VA-VCU Pilot Grant
2019 VCU Massey Cancer Center Pilot grant
2019 American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS IRG)
2019 Endowment Fund Award, Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research, VCU
2018-2021 KL2 Mentored Clinical Research Scholar Award, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences