Shenzhen Institute of Translational Medicine (Shenzhen Second People's Hospital), Researcher, PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Selected for the National Postdoctoral Innovative Talents Support Program in 2018. Principal investigator of International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (China-Russia), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (sub-project), National Youth Science Fund and Postdoctoral General Program. Published SCI papers as first author, co-first author or co-corresponding author in journals such as Nature Microbiology, PNAS, Nature Communications, mBio, etc.

September 2012 - December 2017, Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, PhD

September 2008 - June 2012, Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bachelor

Since July 2021, Researcher at Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, Translational Medicine Research Institute

April 2018 - May 2021, Postdoctoral Fellow at Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University

(1) Microbial Epigenetic Modifications

Epigenetics regulates gene expression without altering the genetic code, enriching biological diversity with significant biomedical implications. Exploring novel epigenetic modifications and their application value is crucial. I am dedicated to using SMRT and Nanopore sequencing technologies to map the complete landscape of DNA phosphorothioation modifications, identify new modification features, and establish a comprehensive characterization scheme for phosphorothioation modifications. Based on microbial epigenetic features, I study the interaction and co-evolution characteristics between DNA phosphorothioation and methylation, and investigate the interaction network between DNA phosphorothioation systems and CRISPR systems and their applications. Given the significant role of epigenetics in gene expression regulation and physiological metabolism, its involvement in vital life activities such as intracellular homeostasis, microbial pathogenicity, and defense system establishment lays the theoretical foundation in fields like microbial evolution, disease prevention, and phage therapy, demonstrating practical potential.

(2) Biomedical Applications of Engineered Bacteriophages

Bacteriophages, ubiquitous in nature, constitute a vast reservoir of rich genetic information due to their abundance and diversity. Classic bacteriophage components such as T4 DNA ligase and T7 RNA polymerase have revolutionized experimental techniques, becoming essential genetic manipulation tools in research. With antibiotic misuse rampant in clinical settings and antibiotic-resistant superbugs posing global threats, there is an urgent need for effective antibacterial technologies. Bacteriophage genomes harbor efficient lytic enzymes, antimicrobial peptides, and other components with significant potential for exploration. Through extensive isolation and identification efforts of natural bacteriophages, unraveling complex interaction networks between bacteriophages and hosts, and discovering potential transpositional, regulatory, and antibacterial elements on bacteriophage genomes, their biomedical application value in sensitive pathogen detection and effective control of drug-resistant bacteria is highlighted. Furthermore, developing effective genetic manipulation strategies for engineered bacteriophages, establishing robust bacteriophage engineering systems, and creating diverse libraries of engineered bacteriophages will advance theoretical research and application development in clinical diagnostics and therapeutics.

International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (China-Russia), 32361133560, Functional interplay between Argonautes and DNA phosphorothioation restriction-modification systems in antiviral defence in prokaryotes, January 2024 - December 2026, RMB 1,500,000, Ongoing, Principal Investigator.

National Key Research and Development Program of China (sub-project), 2022YFA0912503, Construction of High-Efficiency Pollutant Metabolic Elements and Optimization of Genome Editing System, November 2022 – December 2027, RMB 350,000, Ongoing, Principal Investigator.

National Youth Science Fund, 31800044, Genome Mapping of Bacterial Phosphorothioation Modifications Using Nanopore Sequencing Technology, January 2019 - December 2021, RMB 250,000, Ongoing, Principal Investigator.

Postdoctoral Innovation Talent Support Program, 2018, Biology.

Postdoctoral Science Foundation General Project (First Class), 2018M640727, Fine Mapping of Bacterial Genome Phosphorothioation Modifications Based on Nanopore Sequencing Technology, September 2018 - March 2020, RMB 80,000, Completed, Principal Investigator.

1. Jiang S#, Chen C#, Huang W, He Y, Du X, Wang Y, Ou H, Deng Z, Xu C, Jiang L, Wang L, Chen S*. A widespread phage-encoded kinase enables evasion of multiple host antiphage defence systems. Nat Microbiol. 2024 Dec;9(12):3226-3239.

2. Chen C#, Wang L#, Chen S, Wu X, Gu M, Chen X, Jiang S, Wang Y, Deng Z, Dedon PC, Chen S*. 2017. Convergence of DNA methylation and phosphorothioation epigenetics in bacterial genomes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114:4501-4506.

3. Cao B#, Chen C#, DeMott MS#, Cheng Q, Clark TA, Xiong X, Zheng X, Butty V, Levine SS, Yuan G, Boitano M, Luong K, Song Y, Zhou X, Deng Z, Turner SW, Korlach J, You D*, Wang L*, Chen S*, Dedon PC. 2014. Genomic mapping of phosphorothioates reveals partial modification of short consensus sequences. Nature communications 5:3951.

4. Jiang S, Chen K, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Tang Y, Huang W, Xiong X, Chen S, Chen C*, Wang L*. A DNA phosphorothioation-based Dnd defense system provides resistance against various phages and is compatible with the Ssp defense system. mBio. 2023 Jun 1:e0093323.

5. Xu C, Rao J, Xie Y, Lu J, Li Z, Dong C, Wang L, Jiang J*, Chen C*, Chen S*. The DNA Phosphorothioation Restriction-Modification System Influences the Antimicrobial Resistance of Pathogenic Bacteria. Microbiology Spectrum. 2023 Feb 14;11(1):e0350922.