Education

B.S. Department of Pharmacy, Nanchang University, 2011;
M.S. Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2014;
Ph.D. Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, 2018.

Professional Experience

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Plant and Environment Science, University of Copenhagen, 2019-2023;
Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Environment Science, University of Copenhagen, 2023-2024;
Professor, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, 2024.

Research Area

Our research has been focused on natural products chemistry, particularly on plant specialized metabolites. These molecules possess enormous structural diversity, and have continuously provided answers for many ecological, agricultural, and medical puzzles. Advanced bio-analytical technologies and synthetic biology have greatly extended the possibilities of natural products research from traditional 'DISCOVERY' to 'PRODUCTION', and even 'CREATION'. I have been continuously obsessed with exploring the chemical diversity, bio-application of natural products and understanding their biosynthesis. The long term objective of our research is to create a synergy between natural products chemistry, analytical chemistry, synthetic biology, and chemical biology, to fill in the uncharted chemical space of the terpenoid kingdom, and provide next generation drug-oriented high-value chemicals.
Main Research Interests:
High-value Plant Specialized Metabolites. Plant specialized metabolites are promising sources of first-hand high-value chemical entities due to their enormous diversity and structural complexity unsurpassed by any synthetic libraries. We are particularly interested in the discovery of novel chemical structures and explore their potential bio-applications, which include but not limited to their pharmaceutical activities.
Bio-analytical Technologies. The development of new bioanalytical technologies will enable accelerated and sustainable discovery of high-value compounds from renewable resources – such as traditional medicinal plants. We are also interested in developing and applying new state-of-the-art bioanalytical techniques for advanced chemical and pharmacological investigation of complex plant extracts.
Pathway Elucidation and Synthetic Biology. Synthetic biology approaches allow scalable and sustainable bio-production of high-value plant specialized metabolites. A central part of our research is the pathway elucidation and heterologous biosynthesis of complex natural products in tobacco and/or yeast cells.

Selected Publications (*Corresponding author, #co-first author)

25. Zhao Y, Hansen NL, Duan YT, Prasad M, Motawia MS, Møller BL, Pateraki I, Staerk D, Bak S, Miettinen KA, Kampranis S. Biosynthesis and biotechnological production of the anti-obesity agent celastrol. Nature Chemistry. 2023; 15, 1236-1246.
24. Duan YT, Koutsaviti A, Harizani M, Ignea C, Roussis V, Zhao Y*, Ioannou E*, Kampranis S*. Widespread biosynthesis of 16-carbon terpenoids in bacteria. Nature Chemical Biology. 2023; 1532–1539. (*corresponding authors)
23. Zhao Y‡, Liang FY‡, Xie YM, Duan YT, Andeadelli A, Pateraki I, Makris AM, Pomorski TG, Staerk D and Kampranis S.. Oxetane ring formation in Taxol biosynthesis is catalyzed by a bifunctional cytochrome P450 enzyme. Journal of the America Chemical Society. 2024; 146, 801–810. (‡first authors)
22. Zhao Y, Duan YT, Zang J, Raadam M, Pateraki I, Miettinen K, Dan Staerk D, Kampranis S. Structure-Agnostic Bioactivity-Driven Combinatorial Biosynthesis Reveals New Antidiabetic and Anticancer Triterpenoids. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 2024; e202416218.
21. Zhao Y, Gericke O, Li T, Kjaerulff L, Kongstad KT, Heskes AM, Møller BL, Jørgensen FS; Venter H, Coriani S, Semple SJ, Steark D. Polypharmacology-labeled molecular networking: An analytical technology workflow for accelerated identification of multiple bioactive constituents in complex extracts. Analytical Chemistry. 2023; 95, 4381-4389.
20. Zhao Y, Miettinen K, Kampranis S. Celastrol: A century-long journey from the isolation to the biotechnological production and the development of an antiobesity drug. Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 2024; 81:102615.
19. Møller BL, Olsen CE, Zhao Y, Motawie MS. A Convenient Route to Large-Scale Chemical Synthesis of p -Hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde Oxime and Its p -β- d -Glucopyranoside: Key Intermediates and Products in Plant Specialized Metabolism. ACS Omega. 2024; 9:44.
18. Zhao Y, Li T, Kjaerulff L, Venter H, Coriani S, Møller BL, Semple SJ, Steark D. Orthogonal reversed-phase C18 and Pentafluorophenyl HPLC separation for phytochemical profiling of serrulatanes in Eremophila denticulata. Journal of Natural Products. 2023; 86, 2638–2650.
17. Miettinen K, Leelahakorn N, Almeida Robles AR, Zhao Y, Hansen LR, Nikolajsen IE, Andersen JB, Givskov M, Stærk D, Bak S & Kampranis S, 2022, A GPCR-based yeast biosensor for biomedical, biotechnological, and point-of-use cannabinoid determination, Nature Communications, 2022; 13, 3664.
16. Ignea C, Raadam MH, Koutsaviti A, Zhao Y, Duan Y, Harizani M, Miettinen K., Georgantea P., Rosenfeldt M., Viejo-Ledesma SE, Petersen MA, Bredie W., Stærk D., Roussis V., Ioannou E, & Kampranis S. Expanding the terpene biosynthetic code with non-canonical 16 carbon atom building blocks. Nature Communications. 2022; 13. 5188.
15. Semple S, Stærk D, Buirchell B, Fowler R, Gericke O, Kjaerulff L, Zhao Y, Pedersen HA, Petersen MJ, Rasmussen LF, Bredahl EK, Pedersen GB, McNair LM, Ndi C, Hansen NL, Heskes A, Bayly M, Loland CJ, Heinz N, Møller BL. Biodiscoveries within the Australian plant genus Eremophila based on international and interdisciplinary collaboration: results and perspectives on outstanding ethical dilemmas. The Plant Journal. 2022; 111:936-953.
14. Rasmussen LF, Anton J, Kjaerulff L, Zhao Y, Semple SJ, Ndi C, Buirchell B., Møller BL., Stærk D. Serrulatane diterpenoids with unusual side chain modifications from root bark of Eremophila longifolia. Phytochemistry. 2022; 203. 113408.
13. Hansen NL, Miettinen K, Zhao Y, Ignea C, Andreadeli A, Raadam MH, Makris AM, Møller BL, Stærk D, Bak S, Kampranis S, Integrating pathway elucidation with yeast engineering to produce polpunonic acid the precursor of the anti-obesity agent celastrol, 2020, Microbial Cell Factories, 19, 1475-2859.
12. Zhao Y; Kjaerulff L; Kongstad KT; Heskes A; Møller BL; Stærk D. 2(5H)-Furanone sesquiterpenes from Eremophila bignoniiflora: High-resolution inhibition profiling and PTP1B inhibitory activity. Phytochemistry. 2019. 166, 1-8.
11. Zhao Y; Kongstad KT; Liu YQ; He CH; Nielsen J.; Stærk D. Unraveling the complexity of complex mixtures by combining high-resolution pharmacological, analytical and spectroscopic techniques: Antidiabetic constituents in Chinese medicinal plants. Faraday Discussions, 2019, 218, 202-218.
10. Zhao Y; Kongstad KT; Jäger AK; Nielsen J. Stærk D. Quadruple high-resolution α-glucosidase/α-amylase/PTP1B/radical scavenging profiling combined with HPLC-HRMS-SPE-NMR for identification of anti-diabetic constituents from root bark of Morus alba L. Journal of Chromatography A, 2018. 1556, 55-63.
9. Zhao Y; Chen MX; Kongstad KT; Jäger AK; Stærk D. Potential of Polygonum cuspidatum root as an antidiabetic food: Dual high-resolution α-glucosidase and PTP1B inhibition profiling combined with HPLC-HRMS and NMR for identification of antidiabetic constituents. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2017, 65, 4421-4427.2015
8. Zhao Y, Geng CA, Chen H, Ma YB, Huang XY, Cao TW, He K, Wang H, Zhang XM, Chen JJ. Isolation, synthesis and anti-hepatitis B virus evaluation of p-hydroxyacephenone derivatives from Artemisia capillaris. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 2015. 25, 1509-1514.
7. Xu HB, Ma YB, Huang XY, Geng CA, Wang H, Zhao Y, Yang TH, Yang CY, Zhang XM, Chen JJ. LC-MS guided isolation of anti-HBV active sesquiterpenoids from the traditional Chinese medicine: rhizomes of Cyperus rotundus. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2015; 171, 131-140.
6. Geng CA, Huang XY, Chen XL, Ma YB, Rong GQ, Zhao Y, Zhang XM, Chen JJ. Three new anti-HBV active constituents from the traditional Chinese herb of Yin-Chen (Artemisia scoparia). Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2015; 176, 109-117. 2014
5. Zhao Y, Geng CA, Chen H, Ma YB, Huang XY, Cao TW, He K, Wang H, Zhang XM, Chen JJ. UFLC/MS-IT-TOF Guided isolation of anti-HBV active chlorogenic acid analogues from Artemisia capillaris as a traditional Chinese herb for the treatment of hepatitis. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2014. 156, 147-154.
4. Zhao Y, Geng CA, Sun CL, Ma YB, Huang XY, Cao TW, He K, Wang H, Zhang XM, Chen JJ . Polyacetylenes and anti-hepatitis B virus active constituents from Artemisia capillaris. Fitoterapia. 2014. 95, 187-193.
3. Liang WJ, Geng CA, Zhang XM, Chen H, Yang CY, Rong GQ, Zhao Y, Xu HB, Wang H, Zhou NJ, Ma YB, Huang XY, Chen JJ. (±)-Paeoveitol, a pair of new norditerpene enantiomers from Paeonia veitchii. Organic Letters. 2014. 16, 424-427.
2. Chen H, Ma YB, Huang XY, Geng CA, Zhao Y, Wang LJ, Liang WJ, Guo RH, Liang WJ, Zhang XM, Chen JJ. Synthesis, Structure-activity relationships and biological evaluation of dehydro-andrographolide and andrographolide derivatives as novel anti-hepatitis B virus agents. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 2014. 24, 2353-2359.
1. Rong GQ, Geng CA, Ma YB, Huang XY, Wang HL, Zhao Y, Zhang XM, Chen JJ. Chemical constituents from the ethyl acetate extract of the flower of Albizia julibrissin. China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica. 2014; 39, 1845-1851.