Meet the new Dr Abildgaard Fellow from SIC
Postdoc Wenning Zheng from the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center (SIC) at the University of Copenhagen, has just been awarded the LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowship 2024 worth DKK 12 million! Wenning Zheng’s research focuses on tracking skin diseases by identifying rare, aggressive T cells using computational modeling and experimental biology.
Wenning Zheng is among the four talented skin researchers to receive a LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowship 2024 of DKK 12 million. She receives the fellowship for her skin research, which addresses a critical question in immunology: how immune cells from the skin, particularly resident memory T cells (TRM), can travel through the blood and potentially contribute to disease in other parts of the body.
This understanding is key as many patients with skin diseases like eczema and psoriasis also suffer from related conditions, such as asthma or arthritis, suggesting that these diseases may be linked by common immune pathways.
“People living with skin diseases often experience relapses, even after resolution of old lesions following treatments. My research focuses on identifying the blood biomarkers that may trigger these relapses with the goal of developing a preclinical prognosis tool for skin diseases. By detecting these biomarkers in high-risk people, we can enable early treatment and prevent the worsening of their conditions," Wenning Zheng says.
Ultimately, this research aims to reduce healthcare cost and improve patients’ quality of life.
Expert in bioinformatics
Wenning Zheng’s research is centered on T cell biology, with a focus on the immune mechanisms underlying chronic diseases and autoimmune disorders. Her path as a researcher has taken her from studying DNA alterations in T cell-driven lymphomas at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore to postdoctoral work at Karolinska Institutet and now, at the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center (SIC) anchored at the Department of Immunology and Microbiology (ISIM) at the University of Copenhagen.
Her expertise is in bioinformatics, a rapidly growing field that combines biology with computational techniques to make sense of complex biological data.
Long term vision
Zheng envisions her research making a profound impact on the management of skin diseases. By identifying biomarkers that can predict disease relapses, her work could lead to the development of preclinical tools capable of detecting early signs of skin disease flare-ups, allowing for more timely treatment. This would not only improve the quality of life for patients but also reduce the burden on healthcare systems by lowering the risk of severe disease progression.
Wenning Zheng aims to lead a research group that delves deeper into the immune repertoire of various diseases, employing advanced methods like machine learning and multi-omics immune profiling. Her goal is to bridge the gap between data science, life science, and clinical practice, ultimately contributing to the development of translational medicine solutions for chronic diseases.
New Assistant Professor at SIC
From January 2025, Wenning Zheng will assume her role as Assistant Professor in the Allergic Inflammation Group lead by Associate Professor Jonathan Coquet.
The fellowship is granted as a part of the LEO Foundation’s Dr Abildgaard Fellowships 2024 research theme: Advanced Therapeutics Research in Skin Diseases.