Ping Zhang

Human genetic variation underlying disease susceptibility is an important determinant of inter-individual variability in disease severity and drug response through regulatory effects on gene expression and functional activity. However, translating disease-associated loci into actionable therapeutic targets remains challenging due to difficulties in (i) identifying causal variants, (ii) defining context-specific effects and (iii) establishing mechanistic links to cellular phenotypes and clinical outcomes.

My research dissects how genetic and epigenetic variation regulates human immune responses, with a focus on sepsis-associated inflammation, immune tolerance and the crosstalk between innate and adaptive immunity. I integrate multi-omics profiling, eQTL mapping, CRISPR-based perturbation and advanced computational analyses to identify causal genetic mechanisms underlying disease-relevant immune phenotypes.

I hope to build on the work to translate genetic and epigenetic insights into new biomarkers and therapeutic strategies to improve patient stratification and treatment response.

Background 
I earned my PhD in Cancer Biology at Heidelberg University, where I studied the genetic and molecular mechanisms regulating the tumour suppressor p53.