Roles
Associate Professor
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Biography
Zhipeng Meng, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and a member of the Tumor Biology Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Meng’s laboratory investigates how cells sense and adapt to biochemical, biomechanical, and metabolic changes in the tissue microenvironment, with a particular emphasis on the Hippo signaling pathway and its transcriptional effectors YAP and TAZ. His research seeks to define how dysregulated mechanotransduction contributes to cancer and other human diseases and to translate these mechanisms into new therapeutic strategies.
His laboratory integrates molecular and cell biology, genetic mouse models, organoid systems, functional genomics, metabolic analyses, and pharmacological approaches. Current research focuses on vascular sarcomas, liver cancer, cancer therapeutics, and post-traumatic osteoarthritis.
Dr. Meng’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Florida Department of Health Bankhead-Coley Cancer Research Program, and other institutional and foundation awards. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
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Honors & Awards
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Teaching Interests
Biochemistry, Cell Biology, protein kinases, mechanotransduction, liver diseases -
Research Interests
The Meng laboratory investigates how mechanical and metabolic signals in the tissue microenvironment regulate cell fate, tissue homeostasis, and tumor development through the Hippo signaling pathway. A major goal is to identify disease-specific dependencies created by dysregulated Hippo/YAP/TAZ signaling and develop strategies to therapeutically target them.
• Vascular sarcomas and endothelial tumors: Defining how Hippo pathway dysregulation and aberrant YAP/TAZ activity reprogram endothelial cell identity and metabolism in epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and angiosarcoma. The laboratory is developing genetically engineered models, organoid systems, and therapeutic strategies targeting YAP/TAZ-TEAD signaling and associated metabolic vulnerabilities.
• Mechano-metabolic regulation of liver disease and cancer: Investigating how the MAP4K-Hippo pathway integrates tissue mechanics, nutrient availability, and lipid metabolism during metabolic liver disease and hepatocarcinogenesis.
• Hippo signaling and cancer therapeutics: Identifying signaling networks that cooperate with YAP/TAZ in cancer and determining how these pathways can be exploited through rational combination therapies.
• Mechanotransduction in musculoskeletal disease: Defining how mechanical stress regulates Hippo/YAP/TAZ-dependent inflammatory signaling following joint injury and developing approaches to prevent post-traumatic osteoarthritis. -
Publications
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Professional Activities
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