Welcome back to Tufts in Translation where we will spotlight faculty advancing new therapeutic approaches, targets, platforms, and delivery systems. Sessions will feature early-stage research across the drug discovery and design landscape, with an emphasis on translational potential and industry relevance.

Dr. Li Zeng is an Associate Professor in Immunology and Orthopedics at Tufts University School of Medicine, with appointments in Pharmacology and Drug Development as well as Genetics, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Program. The Zeng lab focuses on the identifying novel targets and treatment strategies for osteoarthritis, a prevalent chronic debilitating disease that have no FDA-approved drugs. The Zeng lab employs interdisciplinary approaches ranging from rodent genetics, molecular biology, imaging and engineering and collaborates with clinicians and biomedical engineers. Current studies include the investigation of unique inflammatory and senescent landscape in OA joints and nanoparticle-based disease modification therapies. Dr. Zeng’s research has been funded by NIH, NSF, and various foundations, including the Ellison Foundation, National Arthritis Research Foundation and American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. She has served as grant reviewers for multiple NIH study sections as well as those in Europe and Asia. She is now a standing member of the NIH review panel for musculoskeletal structure and regeneration section.