Rong Shi, Université Laval

Research

Cyclase Enzyme mechanism ikarugamycin NADPH-dependent dehydrogenase Natural product biosynthesis P450 monooxygenase Polycyclic tetramate macrolactam Structural enzymology

Latest papers

Molecular insights into juvenile hormone maturation by juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase.
The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026 · senior author
Engineering a Modular PapMV Nanoparticle Vaccine: Comparative Efficacy of a Covalent and a Non-Covalent N-Antigen Vaccine Against Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants.
Vaccines · 2026
Compensatory mutations potentiate constructive neutral evolution by gene duplication.
Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2024

All 28 publications

Latest funding

Structural and functional studies of natural product biosynthetic enzymes
NSERC · 2020 · Principal investigator
$192,000
Cell Grower : High-throughput measurements of microbial growths
NSERC · 2017 · Co-investigator
$77,425
Structural and functional studies of natural product biosynthetic enzymes
NSERC · 2013 · Principal investigator
$210,000

All 3 grants and awards

28 publications.

01

Molecular insights into juvenile hormone maturation by juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase.

Picard MÈ, Cusson M, Shi R

The Journal of biological chemistry2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2026.111474 PMID: 42001950

02

Engineering a Modular PapMV Nanoparticle Vaccine: Comparative Efficacy of a Covalent and a Non-Covalent N-Antigen Vaccine Against Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants.

Blanchette LJ, Bolduc M, Woldemariam T, Yousefi M, Rabezanahary H, Olivera-Ugarte SM, Garneau C, Angers M, Shi R, Flamand L, Baz M, Vidal S, Falzarano D, Lemay JF, Leclerc D

Vaccines2026

DOI: 10.3390/vaccines14040349 PMID: 42042825

03

Compensatory mutations potentiate constructive neutral evolution by gene duplication.

Després PC, Dubé AK, Picard MÈ, Grenier J, Shi R, Landry CR

Science (New York, N.Y.)2024

DOI: 10.1126/science.ado5719 PMID: 39146405

04

Fermentation Practices Select for Thermostable Endolysins in Phages.

Oechslin F, Zhu X, Morency C, Somerville V, Shi R, Moineau S

Molecular biology and evolution2024

DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae055 PMID: 38489607

05

Compensatory mutations potentiate constructive neutral evolution by gene duplication.

Després PC, Dubé AK, Grenier J, Picard MÈ, Shi R, Landry CR

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2024

DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.12.579783 PMID: 38405844

06

Phage endolysins are adapted to specific hosts and are evolutionarily dynamic.

Oechslin F, Zhu X, Dion MB, Shi R, Moineau S

PLoS biology2022

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001740 PMID: 35913996

07

Redesigning an antibody H3 loop by virtual screening of a small library of human germline-derived sequences.

Corbeil CR, Manenda MS, Sulea T, Baardsnes J, Picard MÈ, Hogues H, Gaudreault F, Deprez C, Shi R, Purisima EO

Scientific reports2021

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00669-w PMID: 34725391

08

Inhibition of the 3CL Protease and SARS-CoV-2 Replication by Dalcetrapib.

Niesor EJ, Boivin G, Rhéaume E, Shi R, Lavoie V, Goyette N, Picard ME, Perez A, Laghrissi-Thode F, Tardif JC

ACS omega2021

DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c01797 PMID: 34235330

09

Impact of Amino Acid Substitutions in Region II and Helix K of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 and Human Cytomegalovirus DNA Polymerases on Resistance to Foscarnet.

Zarrouk K, Zhu X, Pham VD, Goyette N, Piret J, Shi R, Boivin G

Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy2021

DOI: 10.1128/aac.00390-21 PMID: 33875432

10

Differential impact of various substitutions at codon 715 in region II of HSV-1 and HCMV DNA polymerases.

Zarrouk K, Zhu X, Goyette N, Piret J, Shi R, Boivin G

Antiviral research2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2021.105046 PMID: 33588012

Structural and functional studies of natural product biosynthetic enzymes

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Shi, Rong

Keywords: natural product biosynthesis; enzyme mechanism; x-ray crystallography; structural enzymology; polycyclic tetramate macrolactam; ikarugamycin; nadph-dependent dehydrogenase; p450 monooxygenase; cyclase

$192,000

Cell Grower : High-throughput measurements of microbial growths

Co-investigatorNSERC2017Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Landry, Christian

$77,425

Structural and functional studies of natural product biosynthetic enzymes

Principal investigatorNSERC2013Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Shi, Rong

$210,000

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

Molecular Medicine
biochimie, microbiologie et bio-informatique
Pediatrics
Biochemistry, microbiology and bioinformatics
Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique
Biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique
Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization
Other

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

Guy Boivin

Pediatrics

7 shared papers, latest 2021

Michel Cusson

Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique

3 shared papers, latest 2026

Sylvain Moineau

Biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique

3 shared papers, latest 2024

Sheng-Xiang Lin

Molecular Medicine

3 shared papers, latest 2019

Manon Couture

Biochemistry, microbiology and bioinformatics

3 shared papers, latest 2020

Silvia Vidal

Human Genetics

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Louis Flamand

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Jacques Corbeil

Molecular Medicine

1 shared papers, latest 2020

Darryl Falzarano

Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Jean-Claude Tardif

Medicine

1 shared papers, latest 2021

Sergio Grinstein

Cell Biology

1 shared papers, latest 2015

Denis Leclerc

Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie

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 2020

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Cyclase Dear Professor Shi, 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 "Molecular insights into juvenile hormone maturation by juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase." (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 "Structural and functional studies of natural product biosynthetic enzymes" (2020), 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]