在发育过程中，细胞的分化潜能逐步受到限制。其核心原因之一是染色质在分化进程中不断压缩，进而沉默超过80%的基因组序列，形成维持细胞身份的关键表观遗传屏障。

我们实验室聚焦这一“染色质屏障”在发育过程中的建立、维持和细胞命运重编程中的重塑机制，致力于从分子到结构到功能，系统阐明其调控原理，并在此基础上发展可编程的染色质调控策略，实现对细胞命运的精准操控，推动再生医学的发展。我们融合发育生物学、生物化学与细胞生物学，结合多组学与超分辨显微成像等前沿技术，在超高时空分辨率下追踪染色质结构在细胞命运转变中的动态变化。具体研究方向包括：

方向一：结合超分辨成像和组学分析，解析染色质在纳米尺度的压缩原理，探索染色质的动态调控规律

方向二：探究先锋转录因子（pioneer factors）如何克服染色质屏障，启动不同细胞命运程序

方向三：开发精准、可控的染色质和转录因子调控方法，实现对多个细胞类型和组织进行高效、可预测的细胞重编程。

第十五届广州国际干细胞与再生医学论坛最佳lightening talk奖

Human Frontier Science Program博后奖学金

British Society for Developmental Biology国际交流奖学金

BSDB-BSCB joint Spring Meeting墙报二等奖

国家奖学金

吉林大学一等奖学金

1.  Zhou, B.-R. # Luzete-Monteiro, E.#, Zhang, J.#*, Tang, H.-Y., Fernandez Garcia, M., Coradin, M., Takenaka, N., Frederick, M., Garcia, B., Zaret, K. S.*, Bai, Y. *, (2026) Distinct associations of pioneer factor Ascl1-E12a with nucleosomes drive changes in cell fate. Accepted at Molecular Cell.      * Corresponding author

2.  Katznelson, A., Zhang, J., Donahue, G., and Zaret, K.S., (2026) Basis for Lineage-Determinant Pioneer Factors Targeting Distinct Repressed Chromatin States., Sci Adv 12, eadz7409. 10.1126/sciadv.adz7409.

3.  Zhang, J., Donahue, G., Gilbert, M.B., Lapidot, T., Nicetto, D., and Zaret, K.S. (2024). Distinct H3K9me3 heterochromatin maintenance dynamics govern different gene programmes and repeats in pluripotent cells. Nature Cell Biology 26, 2115-2128.

4.  Lerner, J.#, Katznelson, A.#, Zhang, J., and Zaret, K.S. (2023). Different chromatin-scanning modes lead to targeting of compacted chromatin by pioneer factors FOXA1 and SOX2. Cell Reports 42, 112748.  

5.  McCarthy, R.L., Zhang, J., and Zaret, K.S. (2023). Diverse heterochromatin states restricting cell identity and reprogramming. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 48, 513-526.

6.  Vojtek, M., Zhang, J., Sun, J., Zhang, M., and Chambers, I. (2022). Differential repression of Otx2 underlies the capacity of NANOG and ESRRB to induce germline entry. Stem Cell Reports 17, 35-42.

7.  Zhang, J.#, Zhang, M.#, Acampora, D., Vojtek, M., Yuan, D., Simeone, A., and Chambers, I. (2018). OTX2 restricts entry to the mouse germline. Nature 562, 595-599.

Highlighted in Nature News and Views: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06849-5

8.  Acampora, D., Di Giovannantonio, L.G., Garofalo, A., Nigro, V., Omodei, D., Lombardi, A., Zhang, J., Chambers, I., and Simeone, A. (2017). Functional Antagonism between OTX2 and NANOG Specifies a Spectrum of Heterogeneous Identities in Embryonic Stem Cells. Stem Cell Reports 9, 1642-1659.

第十五届广州国际干细胞与再生医学论坛, 2025年，广州, 中国

报告题目: Global chromatin decompaction occurs early in hiPSC reprogramming and enables pioneer factor to target silent chromatin.

2025年 Epigenetics Society International Conference: DNA, RNA, and Chromatin Epigenetics: Disease and Development, 2025年，芝加哥, 美国

报告题目: Global chromatin decompaction occurs early in hiPSC reprogramming and enables pioneer factor to target silent chromatin.

Gordon Research Conference: Chromatin's Impact on Genome Function Across Size and Time-Scales, 2024年，罗德岛, USA

墙报题目: Distinct H3K9me3 heterochromatin maintenance dynamics govern different gene programs and repeats in pluripotent cells.

23^rd Human Frontier Science Program Awardee Meeting, 2024年，华盛顿特区, USA

报告题目: Global chromatin decompaction occurs early in hiPSC reprogramming and enables pioneer factor to target silent chromatin.

87th CSHL Symposium on Quantitative Biology Stem Cells, 2023年，冷泉港, USA

墙报题目: The H3K9me3 heterochromatin integrity and function are more dependent on H3K9me3 methyltransferases-HP1 associations than the H3K9me3-mark

CSHL Epigenetics & Chromatin Meeting, 2022年，冷泉港, USA

墙报题目: The dynamic nature H3K9me3-heterochromatin maintenance in pluripotent stem cells