Jingshan (Jim-Sam) Zhang
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Chemistry and
Tel: (617) 496-5499 Fax: (617) 384-9228
zhang44@fas.harvard.edu
Research Summary
I study biological questions with
theoretical/computational tools from physics and chemistry.
My Ph. D. work in Univ. of Minnesota was mainly on the transport
property (electric conductivity) of ion channels. As theorists we tried using a
simplified model to gain some insights on the problem, and it worked out
successfully. This was done with Alex Kamenev,
Anatoly Larkin and my advisor Boris
Shklovskii. Each of them impressed me in a unique
way. We also collaborated with an experimental
group to study the properties of ion channels threaded with a
single-stranded DNA. This study has implications in developing a rapid
gene-sequencing technique, and my papers on this topic were cited in a recent review
article.
My research in Shakhnovich
group started from protein-protein interactions. The competition between
functional (specific) and non-functional (random) bindings is similar to my
limited experience in “dating” girls: the question is how to efficiently find a
girl of the right type, and avoid wasting all the time trying with the (many)
wrong ones. Indeed, proteins are like people in many ways.
Currently I work on a new project of viral
population dynamics. I have found some new results (predictions) for the
competition/selection of viral strains.
My favorite popular scientific
book
An old book One Two Three ... Infinity
written by Prof. George Gamow. It explains things so
clearly that even a reader without advanced background knowledge can follow
it—as long as the reader is willing to slow down and think. It demonstrates the
real beauty of science.
Publications:
click to view
Honors and Awards
2006
Aneesur Rahman
Prize,
2006
Wilfred Wetzel Fellowship,