Zhe Sun, PhD
Assistant Research ProfessorOffice Location: 250 Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center
Office Phone: 573-884-2499
sunzh@missouri.edu
Research Interests
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Research Description
Sun's primary interest is in development of novel techniques towards understanding the dynamics of cellular interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM). The goal is to access the cellular dynamics from both biochemical and biophysical perspectives in real-time, for example to monitor the intracellular signaling, cell adhesion with extracellular matrix proteins and the cellular mechanical activities etc. The approaches used include live cell fluorescence imaging and FRET to monitor cellular signaling events and specific molecular interactions, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods to monitor the cellular mechanical activities and the interaction force between cell and ECM (usually falls in pN~nN range). As an integrated part of these studies, Sun is also interested in developing software for image processing, data analysis and computational modeling of the cellular force transmission. By integrating these techniques together, the understanding of the nature of the cell-ECM interactions will be furthered.
Professional Background
- Obtained a PhD in bioengineering, University of Toledo, Ohio, August 2000.
- Obtained a MS in chemical engineering, Sichuan Union University, China, July 1996.
- Obtained a BS in chemical engineering, Chengdu University of Science & Technology, China, July 1993.
Selected Publications
- Yang Ping, Fan Zhi-Hua, Sun Zhe and Pan Yong-Liang, 1996. Operation Characteristics of a Wastewater Treatment AFB Reactor with Porous Polymer Carriers, Journal of Chengdu University of Science and Technology, No. 96, 41-46.
- Reza Forough, Xinyu Wang, Luis A. Martinez-Lemus, Dimitri Thomas, Zhe Sun, Kouros Motamed, Janet L. Parker & Gerald A. Meininger, 2003. Cell-based and direct gene transferinduced angiogenesis via a secreted chimeric broblast growth factor-1 (sp-FGF-1) in the chick chorioallantoic membrane Angiogenesis. 6(1):47-54.
- Zhe Sun, Rui Zhou, Shuyan Liang, Kathleen M. McNeeley, and Susan T. Sharfstein. 2004, Hyperosmotic Stress in Murine Hybridoma Cells: Effects on Antibody Transcription, Translation, Post-translational Processing and the Cell Cycle. Biotechnology Progress, Vol. 20 (2), 576-589.
- S. Na, Z.Sun, G.A. Meininger and J.D. Humphrey. On Atomic Force Microscopy And the Constitutive Behavior of Living Cells. Biomechanics & Modeling in Mechanobiology 2004 Nov;3(2):75-84. Epub 2004 Aug 19.
- Luis A. Martinez-Lemus, Zhe Sun, Andreea Trache, Jerome P. Trzciakowski and Gerald A. Meininger, 2005, Integrins and Regulation of the Microcirculation: From Arterioles to Molecular Studies Using Atomic Force Microscopy, Microcirculation, Vol. 12: 99-112.
- Zhe Sun, Luis A. Martinez-Lemus, Andreea Trache, Jerome P. Trzciakowski, George E. Davis, Ulrich Pohl and Gerald A. Meininger. 2005, Mechanical Properties of the Interaction between Fibronectin and a5b1 Integrin on Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Studied Using Atomic Force Microscopy, American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 289, H2526-H2535.
- Trache A, Trzeciakowski JP, Gardiner L, Sun Z, Muthuchamy M, Guo M, Yuan SY, Meininger GA. Histamine effects on endothelial cell fibronectin interaction studied by atomic force microscopy. Biophys J. 2005 Oct;89(4):2888-98. Epub 2005 Jul 29.
- Kathleen M. McNeeley, Zhe Sun and Susan T. Sharfstein, Techniques for DNA and Intracellular Immunoglobulins in Murine Hybridoma Cells: Applications to Cell Cycle Analysis of Hyperosmotic Cultures, 2006, Cytotechnology, Vol. 48 (1-3), 15-26.
- Hill MA, Sun Z, Martinez-Lemus L, Meininger GA. New technologies for dissecting the arteriolar myogenic response. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2007 Jul;28(7):308-15. Epub 2007 Jun 18.