Zhi LU     Ph.D.

Associate Professor


2017-present Bioinformatics and Genomics Associate Professor Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
2011-2016 Bioinformatics and Genomics Assistant Professor Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
2008-2011 Bioinformatics Postdoc Yale University, New Haven, CT, US
2003-2008 Biophysics Ph.D. University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, US
1998-2003 Life Sciences B.S. University of Science and Technology of China

Research interest



Our group is interested in developing bioinformatics technologies, and practicing evidence-based precision medicine for diseases like cancer. We utilize machine learning and AI technologies, together with noncoding RNA (ncRNA) centered multi-omics data, to understand how genetic information is encoded in the structured DNA and RNA sequences, and how they interact and regulate each other in a biological system. Ultimately, this will help us understand and cure human diseases, know and improve ourselves.


We have two major research directions based on noncoding RNA (ncRNA):

I. Bioinformatics-driven Precision Medicine;

II. AI-driven RNA Target Prediction and Drug Design.


    

Selected publications


· Mingyang Li1, Tianxiu Zhou1, Mingfei Han1, Hongke Wang, Pengfei Bao, Yuhuan Tao, Xiaoqing Chen, Guansheng Wu, Tianyou Liu, Xiaojuan Wang, Qian Lu*, Yunping Zhu*, Zhi John Lu* (2024) cfOmics: a cell-free multi-Omics database for diseases. Nucleic Acids Research 52(D1):D607-D621 (1contributed equally, *co-corresponding authors)

· Yuhuan Tao1, Shaozhen Xing1, Shuai Zuo1, Pengfei Bao, Yunfan Jin, Yu Li, Yingchao Wu, Shanwen Chen, Xiaojuan Wang, Yumin Zhu, Ying Feng, Xiaohua Zhang, Xianbo Wang, Qiaoran Xi, Qian Lu*, Pengyuan Wang*, Zhi John Lu* (2023) Cell-free multi-omics analysis reveals potential biomarkers in gastrointestinal cancer patients’ blood. Cell Reports Medicine 4(11):101281 (1contributed equally, *co-corresponding authors)

· Shanwen Chen1, Yunfan Jin, Siqi Wang1, Shaozhen Xing1, …, Zhenjiang Zech Xu*, Zhi John Lu*, Pengyuan Wang* (2022) Cancer Type Classification Using Plasma Cell Free RNAs Derived from Human and Microbes. eLife 11:e75181 (1contributed equally, *co-corresponding authors)

· Weihao Zhao1, Shang Zhang1, …, Yucheng T Yang*, Zhi John Lu* (2022) POSTAR3: an updated platform for exploring post-transcriptional regulation coordinated by RNA-binding proteins. Nucleic Acids Research 50(D1):D287-D294

· Shuaishuai Teng1, Yang Eric Li1, …, Zhi John Lu* and Dong Wang* (2020) Tissue-specific transcription reprogramming promotes liver metastasis of colorectal cancer. Cell Research 30(1):34-49

· Zhiyu Xu1, Long Hu1, …, Dong Wang* & Zhi John Lu* (2018) Ribosome elongating footprints denoised by wavelet transform comprehensively characterize dynamic cellular translation events. Nucleic Acids Research 46 (18), e109-e109

· Jiapei Yuan1, Jingrui Li1, …, Yijun Qi* & Zhi John Lu* (2018) Stress-responsive regulation of long noncoding RNAs’ polyadenylation in Oryza sativa. The Plant Journal (1contributed equally) 93:5, 814-827

· ENCODE Project Consortium#. (2012) An Integrated Encyclopedia of DNA Elements in the Human Genome. Nature 489, 57–74. (#Lu Z was a member of ENCODE Consortium) [Cover Story] (cited  ~20,000)

· Gerstein MB 1*, Lu ZJ1, Van Nostrand EL1, Cheng C1, Arshinoff BI1, et al. (2010) Integrative analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans genome by the modENCODE project. Science 330(6012): 1775-1787 (20 co-first authors, *15 co-corresponding authors, ~150 authors in total) [Cover Story]


Contact information


Tel. /FAX: +86-10-62789217
E-mail: lulab1 AT tsinghua.edu.cn
Lab page: https://www.ncRNAlab.org | http://lulab.life.tsinghua.edu.cn

MOE Key Lab of Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China