Jiahai SHI

Affiliations

Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Principal Investigator, NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI)

Biography

Dr Jiahai Shi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, and a Principal Investigator at NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI). His laboratory investigates terminal red blood cell development, the mechanisms governing red blood cell aging and in vivo clearance, and how erythrocyte turnover impacts tissue homeostasis and immunity. Using complementary models spanning cartilaginous fish, mouse genetics, and human blood systems, the team integrates mechanistic biology with translational engineering to develop red blood cell-based solutions for autoimmune diseases, cancer therapy, and improved transfusion safety.

Professional Appointments

2021-Present: Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore
2015-2021: Assistant/Associate Professor, City University of Hong Kong
2010-2015: Postdoctoral Fellow, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, MIT
2008-2010: Research Fellow, National University of Singapore

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, Advisor: Dr Harvey Lodish, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research / Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (2010-2015)
Ph.D., Biochemistry and Biophysics, National University of Singapore, Singapore (2008)
B.Sc., Biology, Xiamen University, P.R. China (2002)

Research Interest

Comparative and mechanistic dissection of terminal erythropoiesis and erythrocyte turnover (including red blood cell aging and in vivo clearance) across cartilaginous fish, mouse, and human systems, and how these processes shape organismal physiology and immunity.

Translational engineering of red blood cell-based platforms for autoimmune disease and cancer therapy, alongside applications that improve transfusion safety through erythrocyte quality control and expanded compatible blood supply.

Selected Publications

1. Dong H, Zhang Y, Wang J, Xiang H, Lv T, Wei L, Yang S, Liu X, Ren B, Zhang X, Liu L, Cao J, Wang M, Shi J#, Yang N#. Cas9-Based Local Enrichment and Genomics Sequence Revision of Megabase-Sized Shark IgNAR Loci. J Immunol. 2022 Jan 1;208(1):181-189. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2100844. (#: co-corresponding author).
2. Wei L, Wang M, Xiang H, Jiang Y, Gong J, Su D, Al Azad MAR, Dong H, Feng L, Wu J, Chan LL, Yang N#, Shi J#. Bamboo Shark as a Small Animal Model for Single Domain Antibody Production. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2021 Dec 8;9:792111. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.792111. (#: co-corresponding author).
3. Wang P, Al Azad MAR, Yang X, Martelli PR, Cheung KY, Shi J#, Shen Y#. Self-adaptive and efficient propulsion of Ray sperms at different viscosities enabled by heterogeneous dual helixes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Jun 8;118(23):e2024329118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2024329118. (#: co-corresponding author).
4. Pham TC, Jayasinghe MK, Pham TT, Yang Y, Wei L, Usman WM, Chen H, Pirisinu M, Gong J, Kim S, Peng B, Wang W, Chan C, Ma V, Nguyen NTH, Kappei D, Nguyen XH, Cho WC, Shi J#, Le MTN#. Covalent conjugation of extracellular vesicles with peptides and nanobodies for targeted therapeutic delivery. J Extracell Vesicles. 2021 Feb;10(4):e12057. doi: 10.1002/jev2.12057. (#: co-corresponding author).
5. Zhen R, Moo C, Zhao Z, Chen M, Feng H, Zheng X, Zhang L, Shi J#, Chen C#. Wdr26 regulates nuclear condensation in developing erythroblasts. Blood. 2020 Jan 16;135(3):208-219. doi: 10.1182/blood.2019002165. (#: co-corresponding author) (Cover story).
6. Tan Y, Chu AHY, Bao S, Hoang DA, Kebede FT, Xiong W, Ji M, Shi J#, Zheng Z#. Rationally engineered Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 nucleases with high genome-wide specificity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Oct 15;116(42):20969-20976. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1906843116. (#: co-corresponding author).

* Corresponding author; # Co-first author