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Academic Qualifications and Experiences

2021-Pres.      Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore

2019-2021       Research Fellow, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore

2016-2019       Postdoctoral Fellow, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK

2011-2016       Ph.D. Cornell University, USA

2010-2011       Research Officer, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Singapore

2007-2010       B.A. University of Cambridge, UK

Research Areas

Protein translation regulation, Chemical Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology

Research Interests

The accurate and timely production of functional proteins is critically important for cellular activities. Thus, cells have evolved an extensive molecular network to monitor both the quality and quantity of newly synthesized proteins. In particular, the co-translational surveillance of newly synthesized proteins at the ribosome is the earliest point for the cell to assist protein maturation and perform quality control. Our group integrates chemical, biochemical and cell biology approaches to discover and understand novel co-translational pathways that regulate the fate of newly synthesized proteins and their associated mRNAs. Such co-translational molecular network is an emerging and under-examined area of research in a wide range of diseases, including infectious diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and cancers. We aim to capture, identify and characterize the co-translational factors directly involved in these disease processes.

Awards

2021                NUS Presidential Young Professorship (PYP)

2017–2020      Human Frontier Science Program Long-Term Fellowship

2016–2017      EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship

2007–2016      National Science Scholarship, Singapore

2016                Tunis Wentink Prize, Cornell University

2009-2010      Foundation Scholarship, Jesus College, University of Cambridge

2009                Duncan McKie Prize for Natural Science, Jesus College, University of Cambridge

Selected Publications

1. Xiong, W., Ser, Z., Sobota, R.M., Lin, Z.*(2026) Global profiling of nascent chain interactors reveals TRIM25 as a co-translational E3 ubiquitin ligase. Mol Cell.1016/j.molcel.2026.02.007

2. Batiuk, A., Hopfler, M., Almeida, A.C., Teoh En-Jie, D., Vadas, O., Vartholomaiou, E., Hegde, R.S., Lin, Z.*, and Gasic, I.* (2024). Soluble alphabeta-tubulins reversibly sequester TTC5 to regulate tubulin mRNA decay. Nat Commun. 10.1038/s41467-024-54036-0.

3. Li, J., and Lin, Z.* (2024). An integrated approach using proximity labelling and chemical crosslinking to probe in situ host-virus protein-protein interactions. QRB Discovery. e11. 10.1017/qrd.2024.19.

4. Lin, Z., Gasic, I., Chandrasekaran, V., Peters, N., Shao, S., Mitchison, T.J., and Hegde, R.S.* (2020). TTC5 mediates autoregulation of tubulin via mRNA degradation. Science1126/science.aaz4352.

5. Lin, Z., Dong, M., Zhang, Y., Lee, E.A., and Lin, H.* (2016). Cbr1 is a Dph3 reductase required for the tRNA wobble uridine modification. Nat Chem Biol1038/nchembio.2190.

6. Lin, Z., Su, X., Chen, W., Ci, B., Zhang, S., and Lin, H.* (2014). Dph7 catalyzes a previously unknown demethylation step in diphthamide biosynthesis. J Am Chem Soc. 1021/ja5009272.