Education
B.S. 2010, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
M.S. 2013, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
Ph.D. 2019, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL
Professional Experience
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020, Florida State University (Tim Megraw lab), Tallahassee, FL
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020-2022, Baylor College of Medicine (Hugo Bellen lab), Houston, TX
Professor, 2022-Present, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
Research Area
Our group focuses on neuro-immune biology in neural injury and neurodegenerative diseases. Neurological injuries such as stroke and spinal cord injury remain major unresolved medical challenges. Neuronal cell death is a key pathological feature of neurological injuries and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. The timely clearance of dead neurons is crucial for containing neuroinflammation and facilitating nerve regeneration. Our research group focuses on the study of phagocytosis and degradation of tissue debris in neurological injuries and diseases. Our previous work revealed that, in addition to microglia as the primary phagocytic cells in the nervous system, microvascular endothelial cells possess a previously unknown phagocytic function in neurological diseases, playing an important role in the progression of demyelinating diseases. Our team integrates mouse genetics, cellular and molecular biology, and imaging techniques to investigate: 1) the role and regulatory mechanisms of vascular cells as novel phagocytes in neurological injuries; 2) the mechanisms by which interactions between vascular cells and glial cells regulate neurological injuries; and 3) the role of key biological processes, such as cytoskeletal remodeling, in nervous system development and disease.
Selected Publications (*Corresponding author, #co-first author)
1. T. Zhou#, Y. Zheng#*, L. Sun, S.R. Badea, Y. Jin, Y. Liu, A. Rolfe, H. Sun, X. Wang, Z. Cheng, Z. Huang, N. Zhao, X. Sun, J. Li, J. Fan, C. Lee, T. L. Megraw, W. Wu, G. Wang*, Y. Ren*. Microvascular endothelial cells engulf myelin debris and promote macrophage recruitment and fibrosis after neural injury. Nature Neurosciences. 2019. 22(3):421-435. (#co-first authors, *co-corresponding authors)
2. Y. Zheng*, R.A. Buchwalter, C. Zheng, E. Wight, J.V, Chen, T. L. Megraw*. A perinuclear microtubule organizing centre controls nuclear positioning and basement membrane secretion. Nature Cell Biology. 2020. 22(3):297-309. (*co-corresponding authors)
3. Jiaqi Zhang#, Jiaojiao Hu#, Ruogu Liu#, Tian Zhou, Xuewei Luo, Peigang Liang, Zaichao Xie, Qinyue Zhao, Yan Chen, Dan Du, Cong Liu, Yiming Zheng*, Dan Li*, Bo Wang*. YAP maintains the dynamics of TDP-43 condensates and antagonizes TDP-43 pathological aggregates. Nature Cell Biology. 2025;27(7):1148-1160 (*co-corresponding authors)
4. Tian Zhou*, Yue Zhong, Shoujun Yu, Ruibing Sun, Zhenwei Zhang, Xiaoyan Du, Simon Ming Yuen Lee, Zhitong Chen, Yuxiao Lai, Bing Song*, Yiming Zheng*, Zhen Xu*. Microglia-specific Enrichment of Membrane-bound IgG Enhances Phagocytosis of Amyloid-beta Fibril. Neural Regeneration Research. 2024 (* co-corresponding authors)
5. Garret M. Morton, Maria Pilar Toledo, Chunfeng Zheng, Tania Sultana, Yue J. Wang, Yiming Zheng*, and Timothy L. Megraw*. A distinct isoform of Msp300 (nesprin) organizes the perinuclear microtubule-organizing center in adipocytes. Mol Biol Cell. 2025 Jul 1;36(7):ar92. (* co-corresponding authors)
6. Mengqi Ma#, Yiming Zheng#, Shenzhao Lu, Xueyang Pan, Kim C. Worley, Lindsay Burrage, Lauren S. Blieden, Aimee Allworth, Wei-Liang Chen, Giuseppe Merla, Barbara Mandriani, Jill A. Rosenfeld, David Li-Kroeger, Debdeep Dutta, Shinya Yamamoto, Michael F. Wangler, Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Ian Glass, Paolo Prontera, Seema R. Lalani, Hugo J. Bellen #. De novo variants in PLCG1 are associated with hearing impairment, ocular problems, cardiac defects, and immune dysregulation. medRxiv, eLife. 2025. (#co-first authors)
7. Matthew J. Moulton, Kristhen Atala, Yiming Zheng, Debdeep Dutta, Dorothy K. Grange, Wen-Wen Lin, Daniel J. Wegner, Jennifer A. Wambach, Angela L. Duker, Michael B. Bober, Lisa Kratz, Carol A. Wise, Ila Oxendine, Anas Khanshour, Undiagnosed Diseases Network, F. Sessions Cole, Jonathan Rios, and Hugo J. Bellen*. Dominant Missense Variants in SREBF2 are Associated with Dermatological, Neurological, and Skeletal Defects. Genetics in Medicine. 2024
8. Mengqi Ma, Mythily Ganapathi, Yiming Zheng, Kai-Li Tan, Oguz Kanca , Kevin E. Bove, Norma Quintanilla, Sebnem O. Sag, Sehime G. Temel, Charles A. LeDuc, Amanda J. McPartland, Elaine M. Pereira, Yufeng Shen, Jacob Hagen, Christie P. Thomas, Nhu Thao Nguyen Galván, Xueyang Pan, Shenzhao Lu, Jill A. Rosenfeld, Daniel G. Calame…Hugo J. Bellen. Homozygous missense variants in YKT6 result in loss of function and are associated with developmental delay, with or without severe infantile liver disease and risk for hepatocellular carcinoma. Genetics in Medicine. 2024
9. Mengqi Ma, Xi Zhang, Yiming Zheng, Shenzhao Lu, Xueyang Pan, Xiao Mao, Hongling Pan, Hyung-Lok Chung, Hua Wang, Hong Guo, Hugo J Bellen. The fly homolog of SUPT16H, a gene associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, is required in a cell-autonomous fashion for cell survival. Hum Mol Genet. 2023;32(6):984-997
10. M.L. Tillery, C.B. Hedges, Y. Zheng, R. A. Buchwalter, T. L. Megraw. Centrosomal and Non-centrosomal microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs) in Drosophila melanogaster. (review). Cells. 2018, 7(9). pii: E121.
11. Y. Zheng#, V. Mennella#, S. Marks, J. Wildonger, E. Elnagdi, D. Agard, T.L. Megraw. The Seckel syndrome and centrosomal protein Ninein localizes asymmetrically to stem cell centrosomes, but is not required for normal development, behavior, or DNA damage response in Drosophila. Mol Biol Cell. 2016. 27(11):1740-52. (#co-first authors)
12. Y. Zheng, J. Qiu, J. Hu, G. Wang. Concepts and hypothesis: Integrin cytoplasmic domain-associated protein-1 (icap-1) as a potential player in cerebral cavernous malformation. J Neurol. 2013, 260(1):10-9.
