We are pleased to introduce and welcome Dr. Grace Zhai to the Department of Neurology. In addition to coming to UChicago to lead a novel research program, Dr. Zhai will serve as Vice Chair for Research and help oversee and support operations and strategic planning for research programs in the department.
Dr. Zhai is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in Drosophila genetics and human disease modeling that allow her to perform rapid in vivo functional and imaging analyses to understand genetic and biochemical causes of rare and common neurological diseases and discover therapeutic approaches that might benefit patients. Dr. Zhai is a Pew Scholar and has had continuous extramural funding for the past 16 years. In addition to numerous high impact publications in journals such as Cell, Nature, and Nature Genetics, she has won numerous awards including the Snyder-Robinson Foundation Researcher of the Year Award and Women in Academic Medicine Trailblazer Award.
Dr. Zhai is best known for her landmark work on NMNAT (nicotinamide-nucleotide adenylyl transferase), which is an essential enzyme for the synthesis of NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and a critical cofactor in axonal degeneration in peripheral neuropathy. She found that NMNAT is crucial the integrity and function of sensory neurons and that modulating NMNAT expression could mitigate chemotherapy-induced nerve damage which causes a severe form of peripheral neuropathy. She also established a Drosophila model for another peripheral neuropathy caused by a deficiency in sorbitol dehydrogenase. For this condition, Dr. Zhai developed and patented a novel drug therapy that is currently in phase 3 clinical trial.
In addition to these pursuits, Dr. Zhai discovered mechanistic intersection between NAD metabolism and protein homeostasis in age-related neurodegenerative conditions such as Huntington’s disease, spinocerebellar ataxia, and Alzheimer’s disease that could be explored for neuroprotective therapies. Other major contributions to science include discovery of alterations in spermine synthase, a polyamine biosynthesis enzyme, that result in oxidative cellular toxicity in Snyder-Robinson Syndrome, a rare X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder and recently studying several Drosophila models of genetic forms of ALS.
In each of these areas, Dr. Zhai has developed the ‘models-mechanisms-mitigation’ approach to advance mechanistic discovery into therapeutic development including drug discovery and repurposing studies in human subjects. At University of Chicago, Dr. Zhai will lead efforts in technology development for the study of the nervous system. She will establish a disease modeling and drug repurposing and discovery platform within the BSD that will include high resolution imaging, physiology, and biochemical and molecular capability. She will partner with established centers and institutes including the Motor Neuron Disease Center, the Healthy Aging and Alzheimer’s Research Care (HAARC) Center, the Neuroscience Institute, the Polsky Center, and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Zhai to our community!
