中国科学院南海海洋研究所，责任研究员，中国科学院海洋微生物研究中心常务副主任，中国科学院海洋生物资源可持续利用重点实验室副主任。目前主持国家重点基础研究发展计划（973计划）课题1项，国家自然科学基金面上项目2项，青年科学基金2项，中国博士后基金2项，中国科学院知识创新工程重要方向性项目和重点项目多项。中国微生物学会海洋微生物学专业委员会委员；美国科学促进会会员；美国化学会会员；《Journal of Basic Microbiology》、《Journal of Biotechnology》审稿人和《中国化学快报》审稿人。2011年在微生物生理与生物化学领域获得国家杰出青年科学基金资助。
代表著作：
1. Zhang C, Griffith BR, Fu Q, Albermann C, Fu X, Lee IK, Li L,Thorson JS*. Exploiting theReversibility of Natural Product Glycosyltransferase- catalyzed Reactions.Science, 2006, 313(5791):1291-1294.
2. Xiao Y, Li S, Niu S, Ma L, Zhang G, Zhang H, Zhang GY, Ju J, Zhang C*. Characterization of Tiacumicin B Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Affording Diversified Tiacumicin Analogs and Revealing a Tailoring Di-halogenase. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2010,Accepted.
3. Gong L, Xiao Y, Liu Q, Li S, Zhang C*, Liu J*. Preliminary.X-ray crystallographic analysis of the glycosyltransferase from a marine Streptomyces. Acta Crystallogr. Sect. F., 2010, Accepted.
4. Williams GJ, Zhang C, Thorson JS*. Expanding the Promiscuity of A Natural Product Glycosyltransferase by Directed Evolution. Nat. Chem. Biol.,2007,3(10):657-662.
5. Zhang C, Bitto E, Goff RD, Griffith BR, Albermann C, Bingman CA,Phillips Jr GN, Thorson JS*. Biochemical and Structural Insights of the EarlyGlycosylation Steps in Calicheamicin Biosynthesis. Chem. Biol.,2008, 15(8):842-853.
6. Zhang C, Jiang J, Morreti R, Thorson JS*. The In VitroCharacterization of Polyene Glycosyltransferases AmphDI and NysDI. ChemBioChem,2008, 9(15):2506-2514.
7. Zhang C, Albermann C, Fu X,Thorson JS*. The In Vitro Characterization of theIterative Avermectin Glycosyltransferase AveBI Reveals Reaction Reversibilityand Sugar Nucleotide Flexibility. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128(51): 16420-16421.
8. Zhang C, Weller RL, Thorson JS, Rajski SR*. Natural Product Diversification Using Non-natural Cofactor Analogues of S-adenosyl-L-methionine. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006,128 (9): 2760-2761.
9. Zhang C, Fu Q, Albermann C,Li L, Thorson JS*. The In Vitro Characterization of theErythronolide Mycarosyltransferase EryBV and Its Utility in MacrolideDiversification. ChemBioChem, 2007,8(4):385-390.
10. Zhang C, Albermann C, Fu X, Peters NR,Chisholm JD, Zhang G, Gilbert EJ, Wang PG, Van Vranken DL, Thorson JS*. RebG- and RebM-catalyzed Indolocarbazole Diversification. ChemBioChem, 2006, 7(5):795-804.
11. Zhang C, Stratmann A, BlockO, Brückner R, Podeschwa M, Altenbach HJ, Wehmeier UF and Piepersberg W*. Biosynthesis of the C7-cyclitol Moiety of Acarbose in Actinoplanes Species SE50/110. 7-O-phosphorylation of the initial cyclitol precursor leads to proposal of a new biosynthetic pathway. J. Biol. Chem., 2002, 277(25):22853-22862.
12. Zhang C, Podeschwa M, Block O, Altenbach HJ, Piepersberg W, Wehmeier UF*. Identification of a 1-epi-valienol 7-kinase activity in the producer of acarbose, Actinoplanes sp. SE50/110. FEBSLett., 2003, 540(1-3):53-57.
13. Zhang C, Podeschwa M,Altenbach HJ, Piepersberg W and Wehmeier UF*. The acarbose-biosynthetic enzyme AcbO from Actinoplanes sp. SE 50/110 is a 2-epi-5-epi-valiolone-7-phosphate 2-epimerase. FEBS Lett., 2003,540(1-3):47-52.
14. Williams G, Yang J, Zhang C and Thorson JS*. Recombinant E.coliprototype strains for in vivoglycorandomization. ACSChem. Biol., 2010, DOI:10.1021/cb100267k.
15. Singh S, McCoy JG, Zhang C, Bingman CA, Phillips Jr GN, Thorson JS*. Structure and Mechanism of the Rebeccamycin Sugar 4-O-Methyltransferase RebM. J. Biol. Chem., 2008, 283(33):22628-22636.
16. Williams GJ, Goff RD, Zhang C,Thorson JS*. Optimizing glycosyltransferase specificity via ‘hot spot’saturation mutagenesis presents a new catalyst for novobiocinglycorandomization. Chem. Biol., 2008, 15(4): 393-401.
17. Singh S, Hager MH, Zhang C,Griffith BR, Lee MS, Hallenga K, Markley JL and Thorson JS*. Structural insightinto self-sacrifice mechanism of enediyne resistance. ACS Chem. Biol. ,2006, 1(7): 451-460.
18. Gao Q, ZhangC, Blanchard S, Thorson JS*. Deciphering indolocarbazole and enediyneaminopentose biosynthesis through comparative genomics: New insights and toolsfrom the Actinomadura melliauraAT2433 biosynthetic locus. Chem.Biol., 2006, 13(7):733-743.
19. BorisovaSA,Zhang C, Takahashi H,Zhang H, Wong AW, Thorson JS, Liu H-w*. Substrate Specificity of theMacrolide-Glycosylating Enzyme Pair DesVII/DesVIII: Opportunities, Limitations and Mechanistic Hypotheses. Angew.Chem. Intl. Ed., 2006,45(17):2748-2753.
20. Fu X, Albermann C, Zhang C,Thorson JS*.Diversifying Vancomycin via Chemoenzymatic Strategies. Org.Lett., 2005, 7(8):1513-1515.
21. Fu X, Albermann C, Jiang J, Liao J, Zhang C,Thorson JS*. Antibiotic optimization via invitro glycorandomization. Nat. Biotechnol., 2003, 21(12):1467-1469.
