Meet Our Distinguished Scholars

Professor Yanxiang Zhao is internationally recognised for her pioneering research in autophagy, chromatin structure and rational design of novel therapeutics. By following a “mechanism-to-therapeutics” pathway, Professor Zhao has made a series of novel findings that integrate deep mechanistic insights with translational innovation to address major biomedical challenges, particularly in cancer.

Professor Zhao’s major research area is autophagy, an essential biological process that functions like a recycling plant to turn cellular waste into useful molecules. Autophagy is critical for maintaining cellular homeostasis and its dysfunction has been implicated in diseases like cancer and neurodegeneration. Prof. Zhao’s lab is the first to report the crystal structures of key autophagy proteins such as Beclin 1, Atg14L, UVRAG and NRBF2. Findings from her lab have been published in top-tier journals that include Cell, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and Autophagy. 

Guided by mechanistic findings from these structural studies, Prof. Zhao’s team developed first-in-class autophagy-targeting stapled peptides (“autotides”), which have demonstrated potent anti-cancer efficacy in preclinical models. These innovations have resulted in multiple patents granted in Australia, China and the United States, and were recognised with the award of the Gold Medal at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva (2024). Her work on autotides has led to close collaboration with industry partners providing the opportunity further co-development. 

Building on her mechanism-to-therapeutics expertise, Professor Zhao spearheaded a successful bid for a HK$36 million Strategic Topics Grant in 2025, leading a multidisciplinary team to develop next-generation cancer immunotherapy platforms. This achievement not only underscores the team’s scientific innovation and leadership, but also positions PolyU as a rising force in biomedical research and translational medicine.