Dr Tao Zhang
Lecturer
Email: tao.zhang@tudublin.ie
Tel: (01) 220 5677
Background
Dr Tao Zhang graduated with First Class Honours from the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) in 2004, achieving a BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Technology and receiving The AGB Award for Excellence. He then obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Quality Improvement from the Department of Statistics at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in 2006, followed by a PhD in Pharmacy Research from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SoPPS) at TCD in 2009. After completing his PhD, Tao conducted postdoctoral research on the Pharmatrin-Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnership Programme under Prof Helen Sheridan at SoPPS, TCD, before joining Trino Therapeutics Ltd in 2011. At Trino, he held the positions of Senior Chemist and Principal Scientist, contributing to innovative drug discovery programmes and leading GMP manufacturing campaigns for drug substance, successfully bringing a drug candidate PH46A to European human clinical trials. In 2017, Tao joined APC Ltd as a Team Lead, managing an interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and analysts focused on developing and optimising (bio)pharmaceutical processes. In 2018, he was appointed as a Lecturer at the School of Food Science and Environmental Health (SoFSEH) at DIT, now called Technological University (TU) Dublin. He currently lectures across various programmes in the school, ranging from first-year science courses to advanced fourth-year BSc research projects. Tao serves as the Programme Chair of the nationally award-winning programme, Higher Certificate in Science in Pharmacy Technician Studies (TU654|TU657). He holds several internal and external roles, including membership in the TU Dublin Academic Regulations, Policies & Procedures Oversight Committee, TU Dublin Faculty Board (Sciences & Health), Royal Society of Chemistry, Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA), International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce (INPST), and the Good Practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine (GP-TCM) Research Association. Additionally, he is an PI at NatPro, Trinity Centre for Natural Products Research (TCD), an Associate Research Fellow at SoPPS (TCD), and an Associate Editor of BMC Chemistry.
Research Interests
Tao’s research interests span both educational and scientific domains. In education, he focuses on curriculum design and pedagogical strategies, particularly integrating professional development training to enhance students' learning experiences and effectively cultivate their graduate attributes. Under his leadership, the Pharmacy Technician Programme received the National AHECS Employability Award for “Research Informed Practice (2023) and became a founding member of the European Association of Pharmacy Technicians (EAPT) – Academic Network. In scientific research, Tao specialises in developing novel indane hybrid skeletons with inherent biological activities. His work aims to identify and develop new classes of indane compounds and investigate their interactions with drug targets such as G-protein-coupled receptors, which are crucial in conditions like central nervous system disorders, inflammation, and cancer. Additionally, Tao has a strong interest in ethnopharmacology and natural product research, particularly in isolating, identifying, and characterising bioactive molecules from natural resources and exploring the potential of traditional medicine practices in addressing unmet health and nutritional needs. He has been involved in several research awards and grants, including the Wellcome Trust (Cambridge, UK) Advanced Training Bursary (Practical Aspects of Small Molecule Drug Discovery: At the interface of biology, chemistry and pharmacology), Enterprise Ireland Research Innovation Voucher, Wellcome Trust Strategic Translation Award, and TU Dublin First-Time Supervisor Award, among others. Tao is also collaborating on the €6M IIP-funded project with NatPro (TCD) titled 'Unlocking Nature's Pharmacy from Bogland Species,' which explores the therapeutic and economic potential of Irish bogland plants from both scientific and educational perspectives.
Publications
Peer Reviewed Publications
Liu, J.Y., Wu, R.X. Yuan, S.L., Kelleher, R., Chen, S.Y., Chen, R.F., Zhang, T., Obaidi, I. & Sheridan, H. (2023). Pharmacogenomic analysis of combined therapies against glioblastoma based on cell markers from single-cell sequencing. Pharmaceuticals, 16, 11: 1533.
Zhang, T., Scalabrino, G., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2023). Bioactive Indanes: Development and validation of a bioanalytical method of LC-MS/MS for the determination of PH46A, a new potential anti-inflammatory agent, in human plasma, urine and faeces. IntechOpen. (Book Chapter)
Zhang, T., Bandero, V., Corcoran, C., Obaidi, I., Ruether, M., O'Brien, J., O'Driscoll, L., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2023). Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel bioactive indane scaffold 2-(diphenylmethylene)c-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-one with potential anticancer activity. European Journal of Pharmaceutical Science, 188.
Yan, Q.X., Zhang, T., O’Connor, C., Barlow, J.W., Walsh, J., Scalabrino G., Xu, F. and Sheridan, H. (2023) The biological responses of vitamin K2: A comprehensive review. Food Science & Nutrition, 00, 1–23.
Zhang, T., Dunne, J., Young, K., Kinsella, G., Hogan, S. (2022) Professional Development and Graduate Attributes within Pharmacy Technician Studies. National Student Engagement Programme. (Case Study)
Chan, K., Frankish, N., Zhang, T., Ece, A., Cannon, A., O'sullivan, J. and Sheridan, H. (2020). Bioactive indanes: insight into the bioactivity of indane dimers related to the lead anti‐inflammatory molecule PH46A. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology.
Zhang, T., Scalabrino, G., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2020). Bioactive indanes: development and validation of an LC-MS/MS bioanalytical method for the determination of PH46A, a new potential anti-inflammatory agent, in dog and rat plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study in dog. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 179, 1-10.
Zhang, T., Scalabrino, G., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2018). Bioactive indanes: comparative in vitro metabolism study of PH46A, a new potential anti-inflammatory agent and biosynthesis of its primary metabolite PH132. Drug Metabolism & Toxicology, 9, 1-14.
Zhang, T., Scalabrino, G., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2018). Bioactive indanes: Proof of concept study for enantioselective synthetic routes to PH46A, a new potential anti-inflammation agent. Molecules, 23, 1-18.
Cumming, G., Zhang, T., Scalabrino, G., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2017). Investigation of the Stereoselective Synthesis of the Indane Dimer PH46A, a New Potential Anti-inflammatory Agent. Organic Process Research & Development, 21, 1972-1979.
Nazir, I., Rahman, N., Alvi, Z., Rahman, H., Sendker, J., Zhang, T., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2017). Erratum: Antidiabetic activities of an LC/MS Fingerprinted aqueous extract of Fagonia cretica L. in preclinical models. Planta Medica, 83, E3.
Nazir, I., Rahman, N., Alvi, Z., Rahman, H., Sendker, J., Zhang, T., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2017). Antidiabetic activities of an LC/MS Fingerprinted aqueous extract of Fagonia cretica L. in preclinical models. Planta Medica, 83, 1141-1148.
Zhang, T., Finn, D.F., Barlow, J.W. and Walsh, J.J. (2016). Mast cell stabilisers. European Journal of Pharmacology, 778, 158-168.
Zhang, T., Paluch, K., Scalabrino, G., Frankish, N., Healy, A.M. and Sheridan, H. (2015). Molecular structure studies of (1S,2S)-2-benzyl-2,3-dihydro-2-(1H-inden-2-yl)-1H-inden-1-ol. Journal of Molecular Structure, 1083, 286-299.
Zhang, T., Bandero, V., McCabe, T., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2013). 2-(Diphenyl methylidene)-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-one. Acta Crystallographica Section E, 69, o1306-o1307.
Zhang, T., McCabe, T., Marzec, B., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2012). N-Cyclopentyl-N-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-yl)acetamide. Acta Crystallographica Section E, 68, o958.
Frampton, C.S., Zhang, T., Scalabrino, G.A., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2012). (1S)-1-Phenylethanaminium 4-{[(1S,2S)-1-hydroxy-2,3-dihydro-1H,1'H-[2,2'-biinden]-2-yl]methyl}benzoate. Acta Crystallographica Section C, 68, o323- o326.
Barlow, J.W., Zhang, T., Woods, O., Byrne, A.J. and Walsh, J.J. (2011). Novel mast cell-stabilising amine derivatives of 3,4 dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one and 6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-benzo[7]annulen-5-one. Medicinal Chemistry, 7, 213-223.
Non- Peer Reviewed Publications
Zhang, T., Hogan, S., McGrath, M.T., Young, K., O’Shea, D. and Dunne, J. (2023) Empowering pharmacy technician students: A sustainable ePortfolio model for professional development training in undergraduate education. The 10th All Ireland Pharmacy Healthcare Conference, Dundalk, 6-7 November 2023.
Hogan, S., Zhang, T., Young, K., McGrath, M.T., Barrett, J. and Dunne, J. (2023) Professional development ePortfolio: An integrated assessment approach for pharmacy technician students for learning and practice. The 10th All Ireland Pharmacy Healthcare Conference, Dundalk, 6-7 November 2023.
McGearty, C., Maslovska, D., Kearney, L. and Zhang, T. (2023) The impact of different sustainable extraction approaches on the phytochemical profiles and antimicrobial activities of the extracts of Cinnamomum cassia and Illicium verum. Science Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) 2023 Conference, TU Dublin, Grangegorman, 13 October 2023.
McGearty, C., Maslovska, D., Kearney, L. and Zhang, T. (2023) The impact of different extraction methods on the phytochemical profiles and antimicrobial activities of the extracts of Cinnamomum cassia and Illicium verum. The 71st International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA), Dublin, Ireland, 2-5 July.
Chen, S.L., Nagara, S., Sheridan, H. and Zhang, T. (2023) Chemical Profiling of Reindeer Lichen, Cladonia portentosa, Grown on Irish Bogs. Food Science and Environmental Health Annual Research & Innovation Showcase, TU Dublin, Grangegorman, 08 May 2023.
Hogan, S. and Zhang, T. (2023) Professional development ePortfolio: An integrated assessment approach for pharmacy technician students for learning and practice. Let’s Talk About Assessment 2023: Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education, Dublin, Ireland, 30 January 2023.
Zhang, T., Hogan, S., Young, K., McGrath, M.T., Barrett, J. and Dunne, J. (2023) Professional development ePortfolio: An integrated assessment approach for pharmacy technician students for learning and practice. Let’s Talk About Assessment 2023: Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education, Dublin, Ireland, 30 January 2023.
Zhang, T., Chan, K., Scalabrino, G., Frankish, N., Ece, A., Cannon, A., O'sullivan, J. and Sheridan, H. (2022). Insight into the bioactivity of indane dimers related to the lead anti‐inflammatory molecule PH46A. The 2nd Computer-Aided Drug Design International Symposium and Workshop - linking Design, Biology, Chemistry and Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey, 11-12 May 2022. (Invited Talk)
Zhang, T. and Sheridan, H. (2021) From Postdoc to Principal Scientist - My Drug Discovery Research at the Interface of Academia and Industry, Food Science and Environmental Health Annual Research & Innovation Showcase, TU Dublin, Grangegorman, 17 June 2021.
Bandero-Filho, V.C., Zhang, T., Chan, K., O’Driscoll, L., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2015). From nature to medicinal chemistry: Anti-cancer activity of novel indane scaffolds. RICT 22nd Young Research Fellow Meeting: Biology and Chemistry: A Permanent Dialogue. Paris, France, 4-6 February 2015.
Chan, K., Zhang, T., Bandero-Filho, V.C., Moriarty, A., McCormick, P., Mehigan, B., Cathcart, M.C., Daly, R., Kennedy, B., O'Sullivan, J., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2015). Privileged structure: Novel indane scaffolds as potential anticancer and anti-inflammatory agents. RICT 22nd Young Research Fellow Meeting: Biology and Chemistry: A Permanent Dialogue. Paris, France, 4-6 February 2015.
Bandero-Filho, V.C., Zhang, T., O'Driscoll, L., Frankish, N. and Sheridan, H. (2014). Ethnopharmacology led drug discovery and design: Novel indane scaffolds with potential anticancer activity. All-Ireland Joint Schools of Pharmacy Research Conference 2014, Trinity College Dublin, 14-15 April 2014. P58.