Guolong (Glenn) Zhang
Associate Professor-Animal Molecular Biology

Teaching:

ANSI 5010- Basic Molecular Biology Techniques
ANSI 5010 -Topics in Molecular Biology
ANSI 4843 - Applications of Biotechnology in Animal Science
 

Research Interests:

Humans and animals have evolved many strategies to recognize and respond to pathogens. A growing body of evidence indicates that pathogens are recognized by hosts and activate the host immune system primarily through a group of Toll-like receptors (TLRs). These TLRs serve as receptors for a variety of pathogens, including bacteria, yeast and viruses and play a key role in triggering host innate immune responses. One of the most important mechanisms of innate immunity is the endogenous production and elaboration of antimicrobial peptides, also known as peptide antibiotics or natural antibiotics. These natural antibiotics are ubiquitously produced by host immune cells. Strikingly, they are capable of killing a broad spectrum of microorganisms with extremely low risk of developing resistance, a desirable feature for a new generation of antimicrobial drugs.

Our laboratory is dedicated to delineating molecular mechanisms of pathogen recognition and host defense with an ultimate goal to devise more effective strategies to enhance disease resistance of humans and animals with less or no reliance on the use of conventional antibiotics. Experimental approaches include the state-of-the-art technologies in molecular biology, immunology, genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics. Our research could potentially lead to the discovery of novel genes that are critically involved in innate host defense and disease resistance enabling prevention and control of infectious diseases. Currently we are focusing on:

Potential of antimicrobial peptides as antibiotic alternatives in infectious disease control and preharvest food safety by carrying out systematic structure-function relationship studies involving the use of antibacterial and antiviral assays, recombinant protein techniques, NMR spectroscopy, molecular modeling, and in vivo gene delivery.

Molecular mechanisms of antimicrobial peptides in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease by employing a variety of cell signaling and functional genomics approaches.


Functional genomics approaches to the bovine respiratory disease complex by studying and manipulating host-pathogen interactions using DNA microarray and RNA interference.
 

Honors and Awards:

2005 Big XII Faculty Fellowship Award, Oklahoma State University
2004 Junior Faculty Travel Award, American Association of Immunologists
1999 Oral Presentation Award in Basic Science, 2nd Place, the Sigma Chapter of the Society of Phi Zeta, Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine
1998 Travel Fellowship Grant Award for Young Investigators, Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine
1995 Outstanding Graduate Student Award, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
1992 President's Award, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
1991 Outstanding Student Award in the Disciplines of Science and Engineering among the Universities in Beijing, China
1990-1992
Academic Scholarship, first place award for three consecutive years, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China