Yi Zhang

Yi Zhang discovered histone demethylase enzymes including the KDM/JMJD family, demonstrating that histone methylation is reversible and dynamically regulated, overturning the previous assumption that histone modifications represent permanent epigenetic memory and revealing new therapeutic targets for erasing oncogenic epigenetic programs in cancer. His work on the NuRD chromatin remodeling complex showed how it maintains epigenetic memory at tumor suppressor loci through coordinated histone deacetylation and nucleosome repositioning. He has identified small molecule inhibitors of histone demethylases that can selectively restore epigenetic memory of tumor suppressor expression in cancer cells.