Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry

Zhenyu Qin

Zhenyu Qin

Biography

Dr. Qin received a Masterraquo;s and MD from Xian Medical University with a specialization in dermatology, and his PhD from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences at Peking Union Medical College, with both his Masters and PhD in microbial infections, inflammation and hostpathogen interactions. He was a postdoctoral fellow for one year at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, and a second 3year postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University Cardiology Division. He worked with Drs. Tohru Fukai and David Harrison to study the role of reactive oxygen species in cardiovascular disease. Before joining to UTHSCSA Division of Vascular Surgery as an Assistant Professor and a director of the Vascular Metallomics Research Laboratory, Dr. Qin also worked at the University of Cincinnati Division of Cardiovascular Disease for four years as a Research Instructor.

Research Interest

The driving force of Dr. Qin»s project is due to advances in techniques and science, it is time to revisit the vascular function of copper, an essential nutrient in human. First, the sensitivity and application of metallomic techniques have greatly improved. Dr. Qin is utilizing a highly novel approach that combines cutting-edge X-ray fluorescence spectrometric (XRF) imaging with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to detect copper concentrations and localization in the blood vessel wall. Application of XRF imaging to biological samples in 2004 represented one of most exciting advances in metallomics. Dr. Barry Lai at the Argonne National Laboratory collaborates with Dr. Qin to apply this technique in vascular study. In addition, the emerging flow injection technique along with improved sample extraction methodology has produced a more powerful ICP-MS. The technique has been optimized and applied in Dr. Qin project in vascular tissues and cells via a close collaboration with Dr. Joseph Caruso in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati. Moreover, they established a novel concept, vascular metallomics, to bridge the gap between vascular biology and metallomics. Second, copper trafficking theory has been recently established and validated in several laboratories. This theory convincingly defines a group of proteins in the regulation of uptake, distribution, sequestration and export of copper. Among these proteins, ATP7A has attracted significant attention since the identification of its function as a copper egress pump and the discovery of mutations of ATP7A leading to human Menkes disease. Dr. Qin»s approach is to study the physiopathology of the interaction between cardiovascular homeostasis and copper metabolism in vascular biology via dissecting the function of ATP7A.