He completed his postdoctoral studies at the
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center under the mentorship of
Nikola Pavletich, where he published two seminal studies on the atomic structures of prototypical human ubiquitin ligase complexes.[5][6] These studies laid the foundation for his subsequent research and contributions to
structural biology and protein
ubiquitination.
Research
Ning Zheng’s research focuses on the molecular and structural mechanisms by which protein-protein interactions regulate eukaryotic biology and human diseases. His laboratory has made significant contributions to understanding the cullin-RING superfamily of
E3 ubiquitin ligases, which is implicated in a myriad of cellular functions such as
signal transduction,
cell cycle regulation,
transcriptional control, and
DNA repair.[7]
Zheng's recent studies have expanded to several areas of life sciences, including
protein degradation, plant hormone signaling,
circadian clock regulation, chromatin modification, and the structure-function relationships of
ion channels and transporters.[7] His groundbreaking work on the perception mechanism of the plant hormone
auxin led to the introduction of the concept of "
molecular glue."[8][9] This concept describes how monovalent small molecules can promote protein-protein interactions by complementing protein interfaces, facilitating targeted-protein degradation.[10] This conceptual advance has become instrumental in the development of novel therapeutic compounds for targeting disease-causing proteins considered undruggable.[11] His laboratory is actively involved in drug discovery programs aimed at treating challenging human diseases, such as
cancers and
neurodegenerative disorders.[7]