Zhenyu Cheng, Dalhousie University

Research

Bacterial Infection Host Defense Protease Protein Secretion Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Virulence

Latest papers

A single nucleotide polymorphism collapses phase variation and drives short-sighted evolution of O-antigen in Salmonella.
Gut microbes · 2026
Processing of lysophosphatidylcholines by ExoU secreted by P. aeruginosa leads to inflammasome activation and cell death.
Cell reports · 2026
Spatially controlled polymicrobial human airway model recapitulates complex interactions betweenPseudomonas aeruginosaand lung commensals.
Biomedical materials (Bristol, England) · 2026

All 45 publications

Latest funding

The ANCHOR Day: Atlantic Network for Combating Antimicrobial Resistance Health Threats through Organized Research Planning and Knowledge Translation Day
CIHR · 2025 · Co-investigator
$49,900
Characterizing bacterial pathogen interactions
CIHR · 2025 · Supervisor
$6,000
Characterizing the role of host stress responses during Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection
CIHR · 2024 · Supervisor
$120,000

All 16 grants and awards

45 publications.

01

A single nucleotide polymorphism collapses phase variation and drives short-sighted evolution of O-antigen in Salmonella.

Cheng Y, Zhang W, Nickerson R, Lu Q, Guo Y, Hu Q, Zhang R, Wen G, Huang Q, Zhou R, Shao H, Cheng Z, Luo Q, Zhang T

Gut microbes2026

DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2026.2721178 PMID: 42635344

02

Processing of lysophosphatidylcholines by ExoU secreted by P. aeruginosa leads to inflammasome activation and cell death.

Phuong MS, Mahdi A, Cai D, Noah K, Rijal D, Kaul R, Bhan A, Yadav S, Ariana A, El Hamra R, Chen W, Kassen R, Hernandez R, Wong A, Frank DW, Pier GB, Cheng Z, Cuperlovic-Culf M, Bennett SAL, Sad S

Cell reports2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.118037 PMID: 42771524

03

Spatially controlled polymicrobial human airway model recapitulates complex interactions betweenPseudomonas aeruginosaand lung commensals.

Spencer SM, Valenzuela-Valderas KN, Cheng Z, Leung BM

Biomedical materials (Bristol, England)2026

DOI: 10.1088/1748-605x/aea1cc PMID: 42685797

04

The Biotechnological Applications of Marine Bacteria.

Jiang L, Wright R, Raudonis R, Banskota AH, Glick BR, Mitchell RJ, Scur M, Wang Z, Zhang W, Zhang T, Luo Q, Langille MGI, Cheng Z, Wen G

Biology2026

DOI: 10.3390/biology15171546 PMID: 42737978

05

Alternative quadruplex real-time PCR reactions for detection and discrimination of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes within serogroup 6.

Hatchette SF, Paterson N, Polsky A, Robertson P, McCracken GR, Cheng Z, LeBlanc JJ

Microbiology spectrum2026

DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03045-25 PMID: 42474170

06

Iron-manganese superoxide dismutases are primarily responsible for antioxidative responses, antibiotic tolerance, and virulence of Salmonella Pullorum.

Cheng Y, Li Y, Nickerson R, Zhang W, Guo Y, Hu Q, Lu Q, Wen G, Shao H, Cheng Z, Luo Q, Zhang T

Poultry science2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2026.106638 PMID: 41707493

07

Targeting TRPML3 inhibits proliferation and invasion, and enhances doxorubicin sensitivity by disrupting lysosomal acidification and mitochondrial function in triple-negative breast cancer.

Gomes GMA, Xu M, Syeda AKR, Raudonis R, Almasi S, Vijayan VV, Gujar S, Dong X, Cheng Z, Pulinilkunnil T, El Hiani Y

Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular cell research2025

DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2025.119979 PMID: 40348344

08

AMRLearn: Protocol for a machine learning pipeline for characterization of antimicrobial resistance determinants in microbial genomic data.

Zhang X, Hu Y, Cheng Z, Archibald JM

STAR protocols2025

DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2025.103733 PMID: 40193250

09

HSDSnake: a user-friendly SnakeMake pipeline for analysis of duplicate genes in eukaryotic genomes.

Zhang X, Hu Y, Smith DR, Cheng Z, Archibald JM

Bioinformatics (Oxford, England)2025

DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaf325 PMID: 40434911

10

Characterization of a novel cfr/fexA-carrying SCCmec variant from a Mammaliicoccus sciuri isolated from henhouses.

Xiao J, Guo Y, Zhang W, Hu Q, Lu Q, Wen G, Shao H, Cheng Z, Luo Q, Zhang T

The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2024

DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkae322 PMID: 39279050

The ANCHOR Day: Atlantic Network for Combating Antimicrobial Resistance Health Threats through Organized Research Planning and Knowledge Translation Day

Co-investigatorCIHR2025Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Principal investigators: Ramsey, Tasha D; Black, Emily

Keywords: Antimicrobial Resistance; Antimicrobial Stewardship; One Health

$49,900

Characterizing bacterial pathogen interactions

SupervisorCIHR2025Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

Principal investigators: Mata, Steven

Keywords: Alternative Therapy; Antibiotic Resistance; Chronic; Cystic Fibrosis; Infections; Pathogen; Patients; Pseudomonas Aeruginosa; Soil; Water

$6,000

Characterizing the role of host stress responses during Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection

SupervisorCIHR2024Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Principal investigators: Grandy, Shannen

Keywords: Cystic Fibrosis; Infection; Inflammation; Pseudomonas Aeruginosa; Stress Response

$120,000

Unravel the role of quorum sensing in driving plant-microbial interactions

Principal investigatorNSERC2023Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Cheng, Zhenyu

Keywords: canola; plant immunity; plant microbiome; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; quorum sensing

$104,000

Reconstructing the microbe-host interface in an advanced bioprinted co-culture system to study microbial community contributions to chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Project Grant

Principal investigators: Leung, Brendan M

Keywords: Aqueous Two Phase System; Bioinformatics; Chemotherapy; Co-Culture; Inflammation; Microbiome; Oral Mucositis; Probiotics; Tissue Engineering

$573,750

Role of iron in biofilm formation

Co-investigatorNSERC2021Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Lehmann, Christian

$29,184

A novel field-based surveillance approach for antimicrobial resistance for pandemic preparedness

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021New Frontiers in Research Fund - Special Call

Principal investigators: Cheng, Zhenyu

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance bacterial pathogens next generation sequencing phage CRISPR field-based novel methodology

$237,970

Creating a breakthrough technology to overcome antibiotic resistance

Principal investigatorSSHRC2020New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration

Principal investigators: Cheng, Zhenyu

$250,000

Identifying the Role of Protease PrpL in the Virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pathology of Cystic Fibrosis

SupervisorCIHR2020Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Principal investigators: Dolan, Kathleen

Keywords: Cystic Fibrosis; Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

$105,000

High-throughput single-cell imaging flow cytometry platform

Principal investigatorNSERC2019Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Cheng, Zhenyu

$149,999

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Microbiology and Immunology
Pediatrics
Biology
Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology
Pathology
Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Other

Co-authors at Dalhousie University, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Craig McCormick

Microbiology and Immunology

5 shared papers, latest 2019

Tong-Jun Lin

Microbiology and Immunology

3 shared papers, latest 2019

Francesca Di Cara

Microbiology and Immunology

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Miroslava Cuperlovic-Culf

Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Thomas Pulinilkunnil

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

1 shared papers, latest 2025

Jeanette Boudreau

Microbiology and Immunology

1 shared papers, latest 2019

Xianping Dong

Physiology and Biophysics

1 shared papers, latest 2025

Jun Wang

Microbiology and Immunology

1 shared papers, latest 2019

Subash Sad

Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Alex Wong

Biology

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2023

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Bacterial Infection Dear Professor Cheng, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "A single nucleotide polymorphism collapses phase variation and drives short-sighted evolution of O-antigen in Salmonella." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Unravel the role of quorum sensing in driving plant-microbial interactions" (2023), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

Zhenyu Cheng

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

A single nucleotide polymorphism collapses phase variation and drives short-sighted evolution of O-antigen in Salmonella.

Processing of lysophosphatidylcholines by ExoU secreted by P. aeruginosa leads to inflammasome activation and cell death.

Spatially controlled polymicrobial human airway model recapitulates complex interactions betweenPseudomonas aeruginosaand lung commensals.

The Biotechnological Applications of Marine Bacteria.

Alternative quadruplex real-time PCR reactions for detection and discrimination of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes within serogroup 6.

Iron-manganese superoxide dismutases are primarily responsible for antioxidative responses, antibiotic tolerance, and virulence of Salmonella Pullorum.

Targeting TRPML3 inhibits proliferation and invasion, and enhances doxorubicin sensitivity by disrupting lysosomal acidification and mitochondrial function in triple-negative breast cancer.

AMRLearn: Protocol for a machine learning pipeline for characterization of antimicrobial resistance determinants in microbial genomic data.

HSDSnake: a user-friendly SnakeMake pipeline for analysis of duplicate genes in eukaryotic genomes.

Characterization of a novel cfr/fexA-carrying SCCmec variant from a Mammaliicoccus sciuri isolated from henhouses.

The ANCHOR Day: Atlantic Network for Combating Antimicrobial Resistance Health Threats through Organized Research Planning and Knowledge Translation Day

Characterizing bacterial pathogen interactions

Characterizing the role of host stress responses during Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection

Unravel the role of quorum sensing in driving plant-microbial interactions

Reconstructing the microbe-host interface in an advanced bioprinted co-culture system to study microbial community contributions to chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis

Role of iron in biofilm formation

A novel field-based surveillance approach for antimicrobial resistance for pandemic preparedness

Creating a breakthrough technology to overcome antibiotic resistance

Identifying the Role of Protease PrpL in the Virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pathology of Cystic Fibrosis

High-throughput single-cell imaging flow cytometry platform

Frequent collaborators

Craig McCormick

Tong-Jun Lin

Brent Johnston

Francesca Di Cara

Shashi Gujar

Alex Wong

Miroslava Cuperlovic-Culf

Thomas Pulinilkunnil

Jeanette Boudreau

Xianping Dong

Jun Wang

Subash Sad

Alex Wong