Yining Zhu
Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for NanoBioTechnology (INBT)
Yining served as the Lab Captain for the Mao Lab from 2021–2025. He received his B.S. in Pharmacy from Sichuan University in 2019, his M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2021, and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2025. As an undergraduate, Yining worked on constructing nanosystems to co-deliver photosensitizers and immune adjuvants for cancer immunotherapy. In the Mao Lab, his doctoral research focused on developing and optimizing lipid nanoparticles with tailored compositions and properties for gene medicine and vaccine delivery. He has now continued in the Mao Lab as a postdoctoral fellow. Yining is also a recipient of the Siebel Scholar Class of 2026. In his free time, he enjoys movies and traveling.
Publications:
- Zhu Y*, Yao ZC*, Li S*, et al., Mao HQ. An mRNA lipid nanoparticle- incorporated nanofiber-hydrogel composite for cancer immunotherapy. Nature Communications, 2025.
- Lu X*, Zhu Y*, et al., Mao HQ. A multistep platform identifies spleen-tropic lipid nanoparticles for in vivo T cell-targeted delivery of gene-editing proteins. Science Advances, 2025.
- Zhu Y*, Cai SS*, Ma J, et al., Mao HQ. Optimization of lipid nanoparticles for gene editing of the liver via intraduodenal delivery. Biomaterials, 2024: 122559.
- Ma J*, Zhu Y* , et al., Mao HQ. Tuning extracellular fluid viscosity for enhanced transfection efficiency in genetic cell engineering. Nature Chemical Engineering, 2024.
- Zhu Y, Ma J, Shen R, Lin J, Li S, Lu X, Stelzel JL, Kong J, Cheng L, Vuong I, Yao ZC, Wei C, Korinetz NM, Toh WH, Choy J, Reynolds RA, Shears MJ, Cho WJ, Livingston NK, Howard GP, Hu Y, Tzeng SY, Zack DJ, Green JJ, Zheng L, Doloff JC, Schneck JP, Reddy SK, Murphy SC, Mao HQ. Screening for lipid nanoparticles that modulate the immune activity of helper T cells towards enhanced antitumour activity. Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2023 Dec; PMID: 38082180.
- Zhu Y, Shen R, Vuong I, Reynolds RA, Shears MJ, Yao ZC, Hu Y, Cho WJ, Kong J, Reddy SK, Murphy SC, Mao HQ. Multi-step screening of DNA/lipid nanoparticles and co-delivery with siRNA to enhance and prolong gene expression. Nature Communications, 2022 Jul; 13(1): 4282. PMID: 35879315.
- Hu Y*, Zhu Y*, Sutherland ND, Wilson DR, Pang M, Liu E, Staub JR, Berlinicke CA, Zack DJ, Green JJ, Reddy SK, Mao HQ. Size-controlled and shelf-stable DNA particles for production of lentiviral vectors. Nano Letters, 2021 Jul; 21(13): 5697–5705. PMID: 34228937.