Faculty in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology achieved their awards while participating in the 23-24 R01 Boot Camp.
By Manny Rea and Nicole Maher
Having earned the coveted National Institutes of Health (NIH) Outstanding Investigator (R35) award, Drs. Chen Zhao and Zhipeng Li, assistant professors in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, are primed for scientific success in their early careers. First participating in the 2023-24 R01 Boot Camp, a 9-month team-science and mentorship-focused program helping faculty members receive NIH R01 grants, their R01 proposals slowly transformed into the more flexible R35 mechanism. Conferred to productive investigators, the award provides support for their research lab rather than specific projects — thus enabling long-term research ventures with “unusual potential.”
Though Zhao’s and Li’s paths have led them to this opportunity, their journeys are uniquely their own:
Early Scientific Interests & Arrival at UF
Fascinated by fundamental phenomena, Chen Zhao, Ph.D., was initially drawn to physics but found her way to biology and biophysics.
“I liked being able to apply very simple principles to something so complex,” Zhao said.
Bridging quantitative thinking and biological complexity, Zhao studied structural biology as an undergraduate at the University of Science and Technology of China. Focusing on epigenetics, Zhao used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-ray crystallography to understand how proteins recognize the specific marks on the histone, the DNA packager. Zhao pursued this, studying RNA structures, while working on her PhD with Dr. Anna Marie Pyle.
Though far from membrane proteins, Zhao’s early training shaped her facility with structural tools and molecular detail. She does confess to one stumbling block:
“I would get too excited about things,” she said. “I would start diving into these experimental branches that were not very important.”
Over the years, especially during her postdoc training at the Rockefeller University with Dr. Roderick MacKinnon, she learned to focus on central questions that push a lab forward.
As an assistant professor in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Zhao now runs the Zhao Lab dedicated to understanding how membrane proteins transduce signals in near-native contexts.
Zhao joined the UF College of Medicine in 2023 largely because of its synergistic environment: In addition to its collaborative ethos, UF had acquired a cryogenic electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) instrument for creating high-resolution 3D models of molecules by directly taking pictures of individual molecules frozen in thin ice, crucial for advancing her work.
“I constantly receive emails asking if we can collaborate,” Zhao said. “People here are very friendly and supportive. I don’t sense competition or aggressiveness.”
R01 Boot Camp Experience & R35 Goals
Zhao participated in the R01 Boot Camp before re-casting her proposal into an R35 better aligned with her lab goals.
“It’s more about funding the person and their vision instead of a specific project,” she said of the mechanism. “It’s also a little more friendly to junior investigators in terms of funding rate.”
She credits the boot camp with teaching the language and structure of NIH grants and her mentors and coaches with offering essential feedback and perspective.
Zhao’s R35 centers on the TRPM3 ion channel, a membrane protein involved in pain sensation. Its two goals are to determine the structure of this channel in other conformations and to discover the structure of this complex in the cell membrane environment. She hopes these insights will guide the development of non-opioid painkillers.
In the long run, Zhao wants to expand her method to other protein systems and eventually isolate proteins directly from animal tissues to study them in true physiological contexts.
Personal Side
Outside the lab, Zhao has eclectic interests.
“I’ve been interested in philosophy for a long time — oh and I’m also a heavy metal fan.”
Early Scientific Interests & Arrival at UF
Zhipeng Li, Ph.D., and his scientific trajectory began with childhood experimentation.
“I was always trying to cook leaves,” Li said. “One of my dreams was to make a medication that could make people become a superman.”
In college, Li majored in plant biology, studying the molecular mechanism of a calcium-dependent kinase and how it regulated drought stress in a model plant called Arabidopsis thaliana.
After time as a lab technician, Li pursued his doctoral degree at Mayo Clinic, working on the regulation of lipid droplets and lipid metabolism. He then completed postdoc work at UC Berkeley, exploring cancer biology, redox biology, and lipotoxic damage.
Li joined UF in 2023, drawn by the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s collaborative culture.
“The department chair and faculty were so supportive and friendly,” he said. “I already felt part of the department even before receiving an offer.”
He and the Li Laboratory are part of a metabolism-focused research cohort in the department studying lipid, sugar, and glycan metabolism as well as disease-relevant pathways like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
R01 Boot Camp Experience & R35 Goals
Li’s original R01 grant proposal stemmed from his postdoctoral work in ferroptosis, a regulated cell death pathway.
“We had found a connection to an essential element called selenium,” he said. “The selenoprotein GPX4 protects cells from ferroptosis.”
His proposal sought to uncover how selenium metabolism is regulated in both normal and cancer cells, and how cancer cells rewire selenium use under stress.
Like Zhao, the boot camp sharpened his ability to craft a coherent program rather than disjointed aims.
“We discussed progress, questions, and clarifications every month,” Li said. “They helped demystify how NIH works and how to approach it.”
He initially submitted an R01 but soon opted to also apply for an R35.
“At heart, I’m a basic biologist,” he said. “The R35 fits better for studying how cell behavior changes under low-selenium conditions.”
Though his R35 has just begun, the funding already supports trainees and critical reagents.
“The funding lets us support students and trainees who do the daily experiments which is already moving the science forward,” he said.
Long term, he hopes his work will illuminate selenium’s broader health implications and guide therapeutic strategies. Looking back on his research career, Li noted an ironic turn he never expected.
“I originally hated metabolism,” he said. “The tedious details of different enzymatic reactions look boring to me. And now, that’s exactly what I study — lipid and selenium metabolism.”
Personal Side
Li finds solace in hobbies outside the lab.
“I’m a big fan of gardening,” he said. “From growing tomatoes and peppers to flowers such as gardenia, lavender, and jasmine, it’s a hobby that makes me feel calm. It’s a kind of self-therapy.”
Conclusion
Since joining the department, the duo has supported one another in their emerging careers. And while their current focuses are quite different, their expertise is complementary, leaving room for future collaborations.
“We talked to and helped each other at every single step during establishing our individual lab and applying for grants,” Li said. “I felt amazed that we also got the R35 at the same time.”
Zhao shared a similar sentiment.
“Having grown our labs at the same speed, it is nice to have someone at the same career stage to navigate the challenges together,” she said.
