My research focuses on computational biochemistry, such as the structural and chemical properties of DNA phosphorothioation, reaction potential energy surface of biosynthetic and industrial enzymes. I have published about 90 papers and been the recipient of UCLA postdoctoral excellence, Pujiang Talent, Oriental Scholar, MOE Talent, etc.
Zhang, Z.; Jamieson, C.; Zhao, Y.-Lei; Li, D.; Ohashi, M.; * K. N. Houk, * & Y. Tang (2019) “Enzyme-catalyzed inverse-electron demand Diels-Alder reaction in the biosynthesis of antifungal ilicicolin H” J. Am. Chem. Soc.. 141 (14), pp 5659–5663
Nie, Y.; Wang, S.; Xu, Y.; Luo, S.; Zhao, Y.-L.;* Xiao, R.;* Montelione, G.; Hunt, J.; Szyperski, T. (2018) “Enzyme engineering based on X-ray structures and kinetic profiling of substrate libraries: alcohol dehydrogenases for stereospecific synthesis of a broad range of chiral alcohols” ACS catalysis. 8, 5145−5152
Chen, L.; Wang, X.-L.; Shi, T.; Wu, T.; Deng, Z.; Zhao, YL* (2015) “Theoretical Study on the Relationship between Rp-Phosphorothioation and Base-Step in S-DNA: Based on Energetic and Structural Analysis”. J. Phys. Chem. B, 119, 474–481.