Professional Title: Associate Professor

Department: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Department of Environmental Science

Major: Environment and Ecology

Main Research Directions: Environmental Pathogenic Microbiology, Environmental Microplastics and Microbial Risks

Tel: 022-87402072

E-mail: zhiyun_wang@tju.edu.cn

Education and Work Experience:

Education:

l Bachelor: 1990.9–1994.7, Northwest University, Department of Biology

l Master: 1996.9–1999.7, Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Pathogenic Biology

l PhD: 1999.9–2002.7, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Pathogenic Biology

l Postdoctoral Fellowship: 2003.9–2009.9, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Work Experience:

1994.7–1996.7: Assistant Professor, Department of Basic Medicine, Xi'an Medical University

2002.7–2003.9: Lecturer, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University

2010.9–2013.12: Associate Researcher, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

2014.1–present: Associate Professor, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University

Awards & Honors:

2025 Tianjin Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Class)

Professional Activities:

Member, Health Laboratory Branch, Tianjin Preventive Medicine Association

Courses Taught:

Environmental Biochemistry

Environment and Infectious Diseases

Environmental Toxicology

Research Fields and Interests:

l Emerging Pathogenic Microorganisms in the Environment: Investigating host–pathogen interaction mechanisms to prevent the spread of pathogenic microorganisms and identify new targets for drug development.

l Environmental Microplastics and Microbial Risks: Elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which microplastics promote the virulence expression of drug-resistant and pathogenic bacteria.

Selected Research Projects :

l National Key R&D Program of China (Subproject): "Research on Bioterrorism Prevention and Control Technologies in Key Public Places / Novel On-site Prevention and Control Technologies and Equipment for Bioterrorism Threat Factors in Key Public Places" (Grant No. 2021YFC2600503)

l National Key R&D Program of China, Nanotechnology Special Project (Subproject): "Pathogen Detection Based on Rare-Earth Luminescent Nanotechnology" (Grant No. 2017YFA0205102)

l National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program): "Mechanistic Study on Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) Regulation of the cGAS-STING Pathway via 'Lipid Metabolism–Ferroptosis' Crosstalk for Immune Evasion" (Grant No. 32570184)

l National Basic Research Program of China (Subproject): "Molecular Mechanisms of Cross-Species Infection and Pathogenesis of Important Viruses / Molecular Variation, Evolutionary Patterns, and Biological Characteristics of Important Viruses" (Grant No. 2011CB504702)

l National Basic Research Program of China (Subproject): "Molecular Mechanisms of Viral Latent Infection / Signal Transduction Regulation of Viral Latency and Reactivation" (Grant No. 2011CB504802)

Selected Publications:

l Li X, Pang Y, Liu Z, Mu J, Wang S, Chen Z, Wang Z*, Wang T*. Two-component system HprS/HprR enhances kidney colonization of uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073 by increasing flagellar expression. Cell Rep. 2026 Feb 24;45(2):116932. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.116932. (Corresponding author, CAS Zone 1)

l Wang Z#, Chen Z, Wang S, Cui L, Tang M, Liu X*, Wang T*, Li X*. PVC microplastics facilitate uropathogenic Escherichia coli pathogenicity by enhancing host cell invasion and mitochondrial-dependent pyroptosis. Nature Communications. 2026 Jun 16. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-74453-7. (Co-first author, CAS Zone 1)

l Liu Z, Huang M, Liu Y, Cui L, Shi X, Chen H, Gao X, Wang Z, Lin Q, Wang Z*, Teng Y*, Wang T*. RG7388 inhibits SFTSV replication by suppressing MDM2-mediated p53 degradation and preventing apoptosome disruption. Sci Bull (Beijing). 2026 Jan 15;71(1):55-59. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2025.06.028. (Corresponding author, CAS Zone 1)

l Wang Y, Li J, Wang Z*, Liu X*. Micro-nanoplastics enhance viral survival and infectivity: Experimental evidence from a bacteriophage D1 model system. Environ Pollut. 2026 Feb 1;390:127468. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2025.127468. (Corresponding author)

l Tan R, Zhang Y, Huang M, Chen H, Liu Z, Wang Z, Li X, Wang T*, Wang Z*. EV-D68 cleaves LARP1 and PABPC1 by 3Cpro to redirect host mRNA translation machinery toward its genomic RNA. PLoS Pathog. 2025 Apr 28;21(4):e1013098. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1013098. (Corresponding author, CAS Zone 1)

l Chen H, Huang M, Hou B, Liu Z, Tan R, Cui L, Wang T*, Wang Z*. The structural protein VP3 of enterovirus D68 interacts with MAVS to inhibit the NF-κB signaling pathway. J Virol. 2025 Apr 15;99(4):e0016325. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00163-25. (Corresponding author)

l Cui J, Dai Y, Xu S, Zhang P, Wang Z*, Liu X*. Ultralight Carbon Aerogels with Highly Hierarchical Porous Structures Synthesized from Sodium Alginate-Nanocellulose Composites for High-Performance Supercapacitors. Polymers (Basel). 2025 Jun 1;17(11):1544. doi: 10.3390/polym17111544. (Corresponding author)

l Li H, Chen H, Wang J, Li J, Liu S, Tu J, Chen Y, Zong Y, Zhang P, Wang Z*, Liu X*. Influence of Microplastics on the Growth and the Intestinal Microbiota Composition of Brine Shrimp. Front Microbiol. 2021 Sep 29;12:717272. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.717272. (Corresponding author)

l Zhang X, Zhang Y, Yang X, Wang Z*, Liu X*. Biochemical Oxygen Demand Prediction Based on Three-Dimensional Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Machine Learning. Sensors (Basel). 2025 Jan 24;25(3):711. doi: 10.3390/s25030711. (Corresponding author)

l Zhang Y, Xu L, Zhang Z, Su X, Wang Z*, Wang T*. Enterovirus D68 infection upregulates SOCS3 expression to inhibit JAK-STAT3 signaling and antagonize the innate interferon response of the host. Virol Sin. 2023;38(5):755-766. (Corresponding author)

l Liu S, Su Y, Lu Z, Zou XH, Xu L, Teng Y*, Wang Z*, Wang T*. The SFTSV nonstructural proteins induce autophagy to promote viral replication via interaction with Vimentin. J Virol. 2023;97(4):e0030223. (Corresponding author)

l Kang J, Huang M, Li J, Zhang K, Zhu C, Liu S, Zhou Z, Wang T*, Wang Z*. Enterovirus D68 VP3 targets the interferon regulatory factor 7 to inhibit type I interferon response. Microbiol Spectr. 2023;e0413822. (Corresponding author)

l Kang J, Pang Z, Zhou Z, Li X, Liu S, Cheng J, Liu P, Tan W, Wang Z*, Wang T*. Enterovirus D68 Protease 2Apro Targets TRAF3 To Subvert Host Innate Immune Responses. J Virol. 2021;95(3). (Corresponding author)

l Cheng J, Gao S, Zhu C, Liu S, Li J, Kang J, Wang Z*, Wang T*. Typical Stress Granule Proteins Interact with the 3' Untranslated Region of Enterovirus D68 To Inhibit Viral Replication. J Virol. 2020;94(7):e02041-19. (Corresponding author)

l Dai Y, Ding J, Li J, Li Y, Zong Y, Zhang P, Wang Z*, Liu X*. N, S and Transition-Metal Co-Doped Graphene Nanocomposites as High-Performance Catalyst for Glucose Oxidation in a Direct Glucose Alkaline Fuel Cell. Nanomaterials. 2021;11:202. (Corresponding author)

l Wang J, Zhang X, Li Y, Liu P, Chen X, Zhang P, Wang Z*, Liu X*. Sweet Drinks as Fuels for an Alkaline Fuel Cell with Nonprecious Catalysts. Energies. 2021;14:206. (Corresponding author)

l Liu S, Liu H, Kang J, Xu L, Zhang K, Li X, Hou W, Wang Z*, Wang T*. The Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus NSs Protein Interacts with CDK1 To Induce G2 Cell Cycle Arrest and Positively Regulate Viral Replication. J Virol. 2020;94(6):e01575-19. (Corresponding author)

l Liu S, Liu H, Zhang K, Li X, Duan Y, Wang Z*, Wang T*. Proteasome Inhibitor PS-341 Effectively Blocks Infection by the Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus. Virol Sin. 2019 Oct;34(5):572-582. (Corresponding author)

l Duan Y, Wu W, Zhao Q, Liu S, Liu H, Huang M, Wang T, Liang M*, Wang Z*. Enzyme-Antibody-Modified Gold Nanoparticle Probes for the Ultrasensitive Detection of Nucleocapsid Protein in SFTSV. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(4427). (Corresponding author)

l Pan M, Gao S, Zhou Z, Zhang K, Liu S, Wang Z*, Wang T*. A reverse genetics system for enterovirus D68 using human RNA polymerase I. Virus Genes. 2018;54(4):484-492. (Corresponding author)

l Mao Y, Cui E, Bao C, Liu Z, Chen S, Zhang J, Wang H, Zhang C, Zou J, Klena JD, Zhu B, Qu F*, Wang Z*. Changing Trends in Shigella Species and Serotype Distribution in a Beijing Referral Hospital from 1994 to 2010. Gut Pathog. 2013 Aug 7;5:21. (Corresponding author)

l Wang Z, Du J, Che PL, Meledeo MA, Yarema KJ. Hexosamine analogs: from metabolic glycoengineering to drug discovery. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2009 Dec;13(5-6):565-72.(First author)