HU Ziheng

Dry Lab AI Therapeutics & Molecular Simulation Lab (ATOMs Lab) · XJTLU, Suzhou · Advisor: Dr. Sijin Wu

• Worked on small-molecule inhibitors targeting myostatin (MSTN) using structure-based drug design and molecular dynamics simulations.
• Ran virtual screening and molecular docking to identify candidate compounds.
• Performed binding free energy analysis and protein–ligand stability assessment to help prioritise lead compounds.
• Co-authored a paper under review at the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling.

Wet Lab XJTLU Peptide and Drug Research Group (XPad) · XJTLU, Suzhou · Advisors: Dr. Shining Loo & Dr. Antony Kam

• Learning the wet-lab pipeline for protein engineering: cloning, expression, IMAC purification, and buffer exchange.
• Produced recombinant proteins in bacterial systems and performed QC for downstream nanoparticle assembly.
• Gained hands-on experience with protein characterisation techniques.

Wet Lab XJTLU Peptide and Drug Research Group (XPad) · XJTLU, Suzhou · Advisors: Dr. Shining Loo & Dr. Antony Kam

• Re-engineering protease-driven encapsulin nanoparticles with dual orthogonal conjugation handles (Sortase A and SnoopLigase) for modular intracellular protein delivery.
• Assembling cargo-loaded nanoparticles via TEV protease-triggered self-assembly, followed by surface functionalisation with affibody ligands and small-molecule labels.
• Characterising particles by DLS, TEM, blue native gel, and HPLC-SEC; evaluating HER2-dependent cell penetration in HER2⁺ vs HER2⁻ cell lines.