Dr. Chao Ma, Associate Professor
Email: chaoma_chem@tsinghua.edu.cn
Dr. Chao Ma, obtained Bachelor’s diploma in Pharmaceutics at China Pharmaceutical University in 2010 and Master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2013. He then pursued his doctoral career at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and received Ph.D. degree in Chemistry and Bioengineering in 2019. After his postdoc research at Harvard University, he joined the department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, since 2021. His research interests focus on rational design, assembly and scalable production of highly robust proteinaceous biomaterials employing chemical biology and synthetic biology tools.
Research
1. Rational design and engineering of proteins for highly robust biomaterial assemblies.
2. Protein/peptide co-assembling nanoparticles (PePCAN) system towards next generation of drug delivery carriers.
3. Construction of cell factory for scalable production of biological materials via microbial chassis engineering.
Publications
1. Shidong Wang, Bo Li, Hongliang Zhang, Jiayin Chen, Xin Sun, Jie Xu, Tingting Ren, Yuanyuan Zhang, Chao Ma*, Wei Guo*, Kai Liu*, Improving Bioavailaibity of Hydrophobic Prodrugs through Supramolecular Nanocarriers Based on Recombinant Proteins for Osteosarcoma Treatment. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2021, 60(20), 11252-11256.
2. Chao Ma#, Jing Sun#, Bo Li#, Yang Feng, Yao Sun, Li Xiang, Baiheng Wu, Lingling Xiao, Baimei Liu, Vladislav S. Petrovskii, Bin Liu, Jinrui Zhang, Zili Wang, Hongyan Li, Lei Zhang, Jingjing Li, Fan Wang, Robert Gӧstl, Igor I. Potemkin, Dong Chen, Hongbo Zeng, Hongjie Zhang, Kai Liu*, Andreas Herrmann*, Ultra-strong bio-glue from genetically engineered polypeptides, Nat. Commun., 2021, 12, 3613.
3. Chao Ma#, Jingjin Dong#, Marco Viviani#, Isotta Tulini, Nicola Pontillo, Sourav Maity, Yu Zhou, Wouter H. Roos, Kai Liu*, Andreas Herrmann*,Giuseppe Portale*, De Novo Rational Design of a Freestanding, Supercharged Polypeptide, Proton-Conducting Membrane. Science Advances, 2020, 6(29): eabc0810.
4. Chao Ma#, Juanjuan Su#, Yao Sun#, Yang Feng, Nolan Shen, Bo Li, Yingxia Liang, Xintong Yang, Hui Wu, Hongjie Zhang, Andreas Herrmann*, Rudolph E. Tanzi, Kai Liu*, Can Zhang*, Significant Upregulation of Alzheimer's Beta-Amyloid Levels in a Living System Induced by Extracellular Elastin Polypeptides. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2019, 58(51): 18703-18709.
5. Chao Ma#, Bo Li#, Jinrui Zhang#, Yao Sun, Jingjing Li, Hangcheng Zhou, Jianlei Shen, Rui Gu, Jiangchao Qian, Chunhai Fan, Hongjie Zhang, Kai Liu*, Significantly Improving the Bioefficacy for Rheumatoid Arthritis with Supramolecular Nanoformulations. Adv. Mater., 2021: e2100098.
6. Chao Ma, Anke Malessa, Arnold J. Boersma, Kai Liu, Andreas Herrmann*, Supercharged Proteins and Polypeptides. Adv. Mater., 2020: e1905309.
7. Chao Ma, Bo Li, Baiqi Shao, Baiheng Wu, Dong Chen, Juanjuan Su*, Hongjie Zhang, Kai Liu*, Anisotropic Protein Organofibers Encoded with Extraordinary Mechanical Behavior for Cellular Mechanobiology Applications. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2020, 59(48): 21481-21487.
8. Chao Ma#, Juanjuan Su#, Bo Li, Andreas Herrmann, Hongjie Zhang, Kai Liu*, Solvent-Free Plasticity and Programmable Mechanical Behaviors of Engineered Proteins. Adv. Mater., 2020: e1907697.
9. Jing Sun#, Chao Ma#, Sourav Maity#, Fan Wang, Yu Zhou, Giuseppe Portale, Robert Gostl, Wouter H. Roos, Hongjie Zhang, Kai Liu*, Andreas Herrmann*, Reversibly Photo-Modulating Mechanical Stiffness and Toughness of Bioengineered Protein Fibers. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2021, 60(6): 3222-3228.
10. Lei Zhang#, Chao Ma#, Jing Sun, Baiqi Shao, Giuseppe Portale, Dong Chen, Kai Liu*, Andreas Herrmann*, Genetically Engineered Supercharged Polypeptide Fluids: Fast and Persistent Self-Ordering Induced by Touch. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2018, 57(23): 6878-6882.
11. Huige Yang#, Chao Ma#, Kaiyong Li, Kai Liu, Mark Loznik, Rosalie Teeuwen, Jan C. M. Van Hest, Xin Zhou*, Andreas Herrmann*, Jianjun Wang*, Tuning Ice Nucleation with Supercharged Polypeptides. Adv. Mater., 2016, 28(25): 5008-5012.
