Dr. Miao Zhang

Dr. Miao Zhang

Associate Professor
School of Pharmacy
Expertise: Ion Channels; Structural Biology; Electrophysiology; Drug Discovery; Movement Disorders;
Office Location: Rinker Health Science Campus 297N
Phone: 714-516-5478
Scholarly Works:
Digital Commons
Education:
Hebei Medical University, Bachelor of Science
Hebei Medical University, Master of Science
Kyoto University, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Zhang earned his Ph.D. degree of Pharmaceutical Sciences from Kyoto University in 2007, followed by postdoctoral study in School of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University.

Dr. Zhang’s group utilizes structural biology techniques to study ion channels, especially small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK) channels. Specific areas currently under investigation are (1) structure-aided drug discovery targeting SK2 channels for movement disorders including ataxia and essential tremor; (2) structure-aided drug discovery targeting SK3 channels for vascular diseases. He is an author of ~20 peer-reviewed original research publications on high-impact journals such as Nature Chemical Biology, Science Advances, PNAS and Nature Communications.

Dr. Zhang is a member of the Biophysical Society, Society for Neuroscience, and American Heart Association.

Research Interests

Dr. Zhang’s group utilizes structural biology techniques to study ion channels as drug targets for neurological and cardiovascular diseases. Specific areas currently under investigation are (1) structure-aided drug discovery targeting SK2 channels for movement disorders including ataxia and essential tremor; (2) structure-aided drug discovery targeting SK3 channels for vascular diseases.

 

Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications

Zhang M, Wulff H. Chapter 8: Small-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium (SK) Channels. Textbook of Ion Channels Volume II Properties, Function, and Pharmacology of the Superfamilies. CRC Press. Taylor & Francis Group. 2023
Rahman MA, Chandrashekar DV, Nam YW, Syed B, Salehi D, Aliabadi MA, Zhang M*, Mehvar R*. Development and validation of a UPLC-MS/MS method to investigate the plasma pharmacokinetics of a KCa2.2/KCa2.3 positive allosteric modulator in mice. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 2023 May 15;e9537.
Nam YW, Rahman MA, Yang G, Orfali R, Cui M *, Zhang, M *. Loss-of-function KCa2.2 mutations abolish channel activity. American Journal of Physiology Cell Physiology. 2023 Mar 1;324(3):C658-C664.
Orfali R, Alfaiz Ali, Rahman MA, Lau L, Nam YW*, Zhang M*. KCa2 and KCa3.1 Channels in the Airways: A New Therapeutic Target. Biomedicines. 2023, 11(7), 1780.
Rahman MA, Orfali R, Dave N, Lam E, Naguib N, Nam YW*, Zhang M*. KCa2.2 (KCNN2): A physiologically and therapeutically important potassium channel. J Neuroscience Research. 2023 Jul 19;. doi: 10.1002/jnr.25233.
Nam YW, Downey M, Rahman MA, Cui M, Zhang M *. Channelopathy of small- and intermediate-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels. Acta Pharmacologica Sinica. 2022 Jun 17;
Nam YW, Meng Cui, El-Sayed NS, Orfali R, Nguyen M, Yang G, Rahman MA, Lee J, Zhang M *. Subtype-selective positive modulation of KCa2 channels depends on the HA/HB helices. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2022 Feb;179(3):460-472.
Nam YW, Pala R, El-Sayed NS, Larin-Henriquez D, Amirrad F, Yang G, Rahman MA, Orfali R, Downey M, Parang K, Nauli SM *, Zhang, M *. Subtype-selective positive modulation of KCa2.3 channels increases cilia length. ACS Chemical Biology. 2022 Aug 19;17(8):2344-2354.
Nam YW, Pala R, El-Sayed NS, Larin-Henriquez D, Amirrad F, Yang G, Rahman MA, Orfali R, Downey M, Parang K, Nauli SM *, Zhang, M *. Subtype-selective positive modulation of KCa2.3 channels increases cilia length. ACS Chemical Biology. 2022 Aug 19;17(8):2344-2354.
Orfali R, Nam YW, Nguyen HM, Rahman MA, Yang G, Cui M, Wulff H, Zhang M *. Channelopathy-causing mutations in the S45A/S45B and HA/HB helices of KCa2.3 and KCa3.1 channels alter their apparent Ca2+ sensitivity. Cell Calcium. 2022 Jan 8;102:102538.
El-Sayed NS, Nam YW, Egorova PA, Nguyen HM, Orfali R, Rahman MA, Yang G, Wulff H, Bezprozvanny I *, Parang K *, Zhang M *. Structure-activity relationship study of subtype-selective positive modulators of KCa2 channels. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2022 Jan 13;65(1):303-322.
Nam YW, Kong D, Wang D, Orfali R, Sherpa RT, Totonchy J, Nauli SM, Zhang M *. Differential regulation of SK channel subtypes by phosphorylation. Cell Calcium. 2021 Mar;94:102346.
Nam YW, Cui M, Orfali R, Viegas A, Nguyen M, Mohammed EHM, Zoghebi KA, Rahighi S, Parang K, Zhang M *. Hydrophobic interactions between the HA helix and S4-S5 linker modulate apparent Ca2+ sensitivity of SK2 channels. Acta Physiol (Oxf). 2021 Jan;231(1):e13552.
Alfuraih S, Barbarino A, Ross C, Shamloo K, Zhang M, Sharma A. Effect of high glucose on ocular surface epithelial cell barrier and tight junction proteins. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 2020 Sep;61(3).
Nam YW, Baskoylu SN, Gazgalis D, Orfali R, Cui M, Hart AC, Zhang M*. A V-to-F substitution in SK2 channels causes Ca 2+ hypersensitivity and improves locomotion in a C. elegans ALS model. Scientific Reports. 2018 Jul 16;8(1):10749.
Brown BM, Shim H, Zhang M, Yarov-Yarovoy, V, Wulff H. Structural determinants for the selectivity of the positive KCa3.1 gating modulator 5- methylnaphtho[2,1-d]oxazol-2-amine (SKA-121). Molecular Pharmacology. July 31, 2017, mol.117.109421.
Nam YW, Orfali R, Liu T, Yu K, Cui M, Wulff H, Zhang M*. Structural insights into the potency of SK channel positive modulators. Scientific Reports. 2017 Dec 7;7(1):17178.
Zhang M*, Meng XY, Zhang JF, Cui M, Logothetis DE*. Molecular overlap in the regulation of SK channels by small molecules and phosphoinositides. Science Advances. 2015 Jul e1500008.
Logothetis DE, Petrou VI, Zhang M, Mahajan R, Meng XY, Adney SK, Cui M, Baki, L. Phosphoinositide control of membrane protein function: a frontier led by studies on ion channels. Annu Rev Physiol. 2015; 77:10.1-10.24.
Cui M, Qin G, Yu K, Bowers MS, Zhang M. Targeting the Small- and Intermediate-Conductance Ca2+-Activated Potassium Channels: The Drug-Binding Pocket at the Channel/Calmodulin Interface. Neurosignals. 2014; 22:65-78.
Zhang M, Meng XY, Cui M, Pascal JM, Logothetis DE, Zhang JF. Selective phosphorylation modulates the PIP2 sensitivity of the CaM-SK channel complex. Nature Chemical Biology. 2014 Sep 10(9):753-9.
Mahajan R, Ha J, Zhang M, Kawano T, Kozasa T, Logothetis DE. A Computational Model Reveals the Action of Gß at an Inter-Subunit Cleft to Activate GIRK1 Channels. Science Signaling. 2013 Aug 13; 6 ra69. (Selected as Cover for the issue)
Zhang M, Pascal JM, Zhang JF. Unstructured to structured transition of an intrinsically disordered protein fragment in coupling Ca2+-sensing and SK channel activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013 Mar 19;110(12):4828-33.
Zhang M, Pascal JM, Schumann M, Armens RS, Zhang JF. Identification of the functional binding pocket for compounds targeting small-conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channels. Nature Communications. 2012 Aug 28;3:1021.
Zhang M, Abrams C, Wang L, Gizzi A, He L, Lin R, Chen Y, Loll PJ, Pascal JM, Zhang JF. Structural basis for calmodulin as a dynamic calcium sensor. Structure (Cell Press). 2012 May 9;20(5):911-23.

Faculty Directories by School or College