Profile
Ping Zhang
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About Me:
I’m a research scientist at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics. Originally from Suzhou, China, I enjoy paddleboarding, sci-fi novels and films, football, and traveling.
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My pronouns are:
he/him
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My Work:
I use computational and experimental approaches to study how certain genetic variation in a person’s genetic code can contribute to immune dysregulation and diseases.
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Read more
My current research is focused on systematic prioritisation and characterisation of genetic variation to understand the regulation of inflammatory response and immunosuppression; the interplay of innate-adaptive immunity; and development of computational and experimental approaches to uncover epigenetic features, gene sets and mediators involving immune tolerance, and drugs modulating epigenetic state that have potential as novel therapeutics. The research combines multi-omics (proteomics, transcriptomics, genomics, and epigenomics) sequencing, eQTL (expression quantitative trait loci) mapping, bioinformatic and statistical analyses to study variation in disease relevant primary immune cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived models.
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My Typical Day:
I get to work at 8:30am, where I do lots of bioinformatic analyses in my office and experiments in the lab. I disscuss the results and projects with my colleagues, and I go home at 6pm.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
spend it on some crafts/3D models and digital newsletters about the basics of our genetic system, and to visit schools and use them to highlight the importance of genetics in health, and how it is closely related to the work that I do.
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Current Job:
Senior postdoctoral researcher in Statistical Functional Genomics.
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Employer:
University of Oxford
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
#Immunogenetics #Cancer_genetics #Functional_genomics @pingzhangneho
What did you want to be after you left school?
Scientist
Were you ever in trouble at school?
for sleeping in class
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Consulting
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Jay Chou
What's your favourite food?
Sweet and Sour Ribs
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
good health for me, my family and friends; achieve a world-changing scientific breakthrough; a return ticket for time travel.
Tell us a joke.
Question: "Son, tell me why we always see lightning first and then hear thunder?" Son: "That's simple, because the eyes are in front of the ears!
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