Biography
Dr. Huang received his BSc in Biological Sciences from Nankai University, and his MPhil in oncology and PhD in neuroscience from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has a very strong research interest in understanding the biological basis of diseases, especially in the context of aging and metabolic disorders, and translating such knowledge into deployable therapeutics to improve the treatment. His current focus is developing novel therapeutics by targeting GLP-1R signaling to treat Alzheimer’s disease, ischemic stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and obesity.
Apart from academic training and research, he has extensive experience in industry with executive leadership roles, and has played a crucial part in advancing investigational new drugs through preclinical and clinical development. Under his leadership, five candidates have successfully entered clinical trials in China, one into Australian clinical trials, and one into the US clinical trials. One of these candidates, Mufemilast, a selective PDE4 inhibitor, has been approved by NMPA (China) for the treatment of Psoriasis.
Junzhe HUANG
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics
Research Interests
How to model the interaction and causal relationship between aging, metabolic disorders, and age-related diseases, and develop therapeutics based on it.
Selected publications
- Huang J, Kwok AJ, Li JCY, Chiu CLH, Ip BY, Tung LY, Chan RCH, Chan DCW, Wang Z, Zheng X, Chow HT, Lo MPS, Li Z, Lin N, Wang M, Yan LYC, Wu WKK, Chow KH, Lin WJ, Tang Y, Zhang Y, Song W, Ng BW, Wong SH, Leung TW, Mok VCT, Ko H. Body-wide multi-omic counteraction of aging with GLP-1R agonism. Cell Metab. 2025 Dec 2;37(12):2362-2380.e8.
- Huang J, Wang S, Mok VCT, Song W, Ko H, Zhang Y. Integrating GLP-1 receptor agonists with anti-amyloid immunotherapy for Alzheimer’s disease: a phased clinical roadmap. Life Med. 2025 Nov 14;4(6):lnaf036.
- Wang H, Ko H, Leung TW, Huang J, Sai J, Liang Y, Li H, Zhang J, Cao Q, Zang W, Li Y, Ma SH, Lui WT, Choi J, Chan C, Wong J, Kwok AJ, Ma K, Fan F, Chan A, Ip V, Leung H, Soo Y, Wong KT, Lai B, Chu CM, Leung HS, Hui A, Cheung T, Abrigo J, Li SH, Chan L, Yeung J, Pan S, Yip T, Lui LT, Hung T, Tsang SF, Leng X, Lam B, Mok VCT, Chan RHM, Nguyen TN, Hu W, Che F, Ip BY. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist in large vessel occlusion treated by reperfusion therapy-a phase 2 randomized trial. Nat Commun. 2025 Dec 14;16(1):11274.
- Ip BYM, Ko H, Lam BYK, Au LWC, Lau AYL, Huang J, Kwok AJ, Leng X, Cai Y, Leung TWH, Mok VCT. Current and Future Treatments of Vascular Cognitive Impairment. Nat Commun. Stroke. 2024 Apr;55(4):822-839.
- Kwok AJ, Lu J, Huang J, Ip BY, Mok VCT, Lai HM, Ko H. High-resolution omics of vascular ageing and inflammatory pathways in neurodegeneration. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2024 Mar 1;155(Pt C):30-49.
