Zechuan Lin, PhD
Associate Research ScientistDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Neurology
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Associate Research Scientist
Biography
Dr. Lin was recruited to the Adams Center from Harvard in 2024. He received his PhD at the prestigious Peking University, one of China’s highest ranked educational institutions under the tutelage of Prof. Xing Wang Deng, a fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2019.
Dr. Lin’s research is focused on revealing the causal relationships between genome variants, epigenetic marks, gene expression, and quantitative traits. Dr. Lin has published on complex and quantitative trait genetics during his graduate studies as first author in Lin et al. PNAS, 2020 and as co-first author in Wang*, Lin* et al., Nature Genetics, 2020.
In these high-profile publications, Dr. Lin honed the quantitative trait locus and causal inference analyses, that he is now applying at the single-cell level to Parkinson’s disease in the Parkinson Cell Atlas in 5D project.
Last Updated on November 17, 2025.
Appointments
Education & Training
- Postdoc Research Fellow
- Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital (2023)
- PhD
- Peking University, College of Life Sciences (2019)
Research
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Overview
My research programs are dedicated to a central question: how to translate these complex human brain-cell-spatial gene activity map into druggable targets of human brain diseases for combating complex diseases like Parkinson's? To address this question, my group is developing novel statistical model, and also apply statistical genetics, functional genomics, and computational biology approaches to construct a brain-cell-spatial gene activity map, and then reveal novel therapeutic strategies of Parkinson’s disease by connecting brain-cell-spatial gene regulation insights with disease risk.
ORCID
0000-0003-2270-5194- View Lab Website
Scherzer's Lab
Research at a Glance
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Zechuan Lin, PhD's research output by year.
23Publications
684Citations
Publications
Featured Publications
Single cell eQTL mapping reveals convergent glial–neuronal risk architecture in Parkinson's disease
Lin Z, Parker J, Nithianandam V, Mathivanan S, Wang T, Liao Z, Simmons SK, Tuncali I, Adiconis X, Haywood N, Weykopf B, Teng X, Sharma M, Yuan J, Baecher-Allan C, Dong X, Beach TG, Serrano GE, Levin JZ, Zhang S, Feany MB, Scherzer CR. Single cell eQTL mapping reveals convergent glial–neuronal risk architecture in Parkinson's disease. 2026 DOI: 10.64898/2026.04.24.720642.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2026
Multi-locus genetic dosage shapes cognitive disease progression in Parkinson’s patients: 15-year meta-analysis of 24 cohorts
Kang X, Lin Z, Calikusu FZ, Miller LA, Soriano S, Locascio JJ, Corvol JC, Maple-Grødem J, Fan Y, Mead K, Campbell MC, Elbaz A, Lesage S, Brice A, Hung AY, Schwarzschild MA, Hayes MT, Wills AM, Herrington TM, Liu G, Ravina B, Taba P, Kõks S, Simuni T, Forsgren L, Counsell C, Macleod AD, Beach TG, Alves G, Tysnes OB, Perlmutter JS, Heutink P, Kasten M, Mollenhauer B, Trenkwalder C, Klein C, Hepp DH, Backstrom D, Svenningsson P, Hu MT, Williams-Gray CH, Barker RA, , Scherzer CR. Multi-locus genetic dosage shapes cognitive disease progression in Parkinson’s patients: 15-year meta-analysis of 24 cohorts. Npj Parkinson's Disease 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41531-026-01367-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchExperimental and computational methods for allelic imbalance analysis from single-nucleus RNA-seq data.
Simmons SK, Adiconis X, Haywood N, Parker J, Lin Z, Liao Z, Tuncali I, Shin A, Jagadeesh K, Gosik K, Gatzen M, Smith JT, El Kodsi DN, Kuras Y, Baecher-Allan C, Serrano GE, Beach TG, Garimella K, Al'Khafaji AM, Rozenblatt-Rosen O, Regev A, Dong X, Scherzer CR, Levin JZ. Experimental and computational methods for allelic imbalance analysis from single-nucleus RNA-seq data. Genome Biol 2026 PMID: 41965748, DOI: 10.1186/s13059-026-04062-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchIntegrating Long-Read Structural Variant Analysis with single-nucleus RNA-seq to Elucidate Gene Expression Effects in Disease.
Kim K, Lin Z, Simmons SK, Parker J, Kearney M, Liao Z, Haywood N, Zhang J, Cline MP, Tuncali I, Sharma M, Serrano GE, Beach TG, Dong X, Popic V, Scherzer CR, Levin JZ. Integrating Long-Read Structural Variant Analysis with single-nucleus RNA-seq to Elucidate Gene Expression Effects in Disease. BioRxiv 2026 PMID: 41929179, DOI: 10.64898/2026.03.20.713192.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2022
qHD5 encodes an AP2 factor that suppresses rice heading by down-regulating Ehd2 expression
Sun B, Xue P, Wen X, Gong K, Wang B, Xu P, Lin Z, Peng Z, Fu J, Yu P, Sun L, Zhang Y, Cao L, Cao L, Cheng S, Wu W, Zhan X. qHD5 encodes an AP2 factor that suppresses rice heading by down-regulating Ehd2 expression. Plant Science 2022, 324: 111446. PMID: 36041562, DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111446.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsHomozygous mutant linesTransactivation activity assayLong-day conditionsSemi-dominant geneExpansion of cultivationHeading dateRice reproductionAP2 transcription factorsRice headingQHD5QRT-PCR analysisRice domesticationShort daysMutant linesRiceAP2 factorsGeographic expansionGene editing experimentsTransient expressionQRT-PCRFlowersAP2Activity assayIndicaProgenyThe telomere‐to‐telomere gap‐free genome of four rice parents reveals SV and PAV patterns in hybrid rice breeding
Zhang Y, Fu J, Wang K, Han X, Yan T, Su Y, Li Y, Lin Z, Qin P, Fu C, Deng X, Zhou D, Yang Y, He H. The telomere‐to‐telomere gap‐free genome of four rice parents reveals SV and PAV patterns in hybrid rice breeding. Plant Biotechnology Journal 2022, 20: 1642-1644. PMID: 35748695, PMCID: PMC9398309, DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13880.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsTranscriptome profiling of two super hybrid rice provides insights into the genetic basis of heterosis
Fu J, Zhang Y, Yan T, Li Y, Jiang N, Zhou Y, Zhou Q, Qin P, Fu C, Lin H, Zhong J, Han X, Lin Z, Wang F, He H, Wang K, Yang Y. Transcriptome profiling of two super hybrid rice provides insights into the genetic basis of heterosis. BMC Plant Biology 2022, 22: 314. PMID: 35773646, PMCID: PMC9245205, DOI: 10.1186/s12870-022-03697-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAllele-specifically expressed genesSuper hybrid riceHybrid riceGenetic bases of heterosisSuper hybrid rice varietiesMolecular basis of heterosisHybrid rice varietiesExploitation of heterosisHybrid rice breedingUtilization of heterosisFormation of heterosisIonotropic glutamate receptor signaling pathwayExpressed genesGenetic basisTranscriptome profilingResponse to water deprivationRice breedingRice varietiesYoung paniclesMolecular basisGlutamate receptor signaling pathwayRice productionHeterosisAmino acid sensorsRiceGenomic insights on the contribution of introgressions from Xian/Indica to the genetic improvement of Geng/Japonica rice cultivars
Cui D, Zhou H, Ma X, Lin Z, Sun L, Han B, Li M, Sun J, Liu J, Jin G, Wang X, Cao G, Deng X, He H, Han L. Genomic insights on the contribution of introgressions from Xian/Indica to the genetic improvement of Geng/Japonica rice cultivars. Plant Communications 2022, 3: 100325. PMID: 35576158, PMCID: PMC9251437, DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2022.100325.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsRice cultivarsGenetic improvementTrait improvementDisease resistanceImprovement of plant typeContribution of introgressionGenetic effects of genesGenetic effectsGenomic contributionYield componentsPanicle numberTillering plantsGrain numberPlant ideotypePanicle sizeBreeding pedigreesGenomic landscape analysisPi-d2Plant architectureCultivarsTranscription factor genesPlant typesGenomic breedingGene haplotypesRice
2020
Genome-wide selection and genetic improvement during modern maize breeding
Wang B, Lin Z, Li X, Zhao Y, Zhao B, Wu G, Ma X, Wang H, Xie Y, Li Q, Song G, Kong D, Zheng Z, Wei H, Shen R, Wu H, Chen C, Meng Z, Wang T, Li Y, Li X, Chen Y, Lai J, Hufford M, Ross-Ibarra J, He H, Wang H. Genome-wide selection and genetic improvement during modern maize breeding. Nature Genetics 2020, 52: 565-571. PMID: 32341525, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-020-0616-3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsModern maize breedingMaize breedingMaize breeding programsElite inbred linesGenome-wide selectionBreeding signaturesMaize yieldBreeding programsGenetic improvementInbred linesAgronomic phenotypesBreedingGenome-wide associationPhenotypic changesTargets of selectionMaizeGenomic regionsGenomic basisTwentieth century1GermplasmPlantsYieldChronological samplesToleranceLociThe Asymmetric Expression of SAUR Genes Mediated by ARF7/19 Promotes the Gravitropism and Phototropism of Plant Hypocotyls
Wang X, Yu R, Wang J, Lin Z, Han X, Deng Z, Fan L, He H, Deng X, Chen H. The Asymmetric Expression of SAUR Genes Mediated by ARF7/19 Promotes the Gravitropism and Phototropism of Plant Hypocotyls. Cell Reports 2020, 31: 107529. PMID: 32320660, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107529.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSubfamily genesSAUR genesAsymmetric expressionPhototropic responseEctopic expressionAsymmetric distribution of auxinTropic responsesAsymmetric auxin distributionDownstream of auxinLateral redistribution of auxinRedistribution of auxinDistribution of auxinPlant hypocotylGrowth of hypocotylsAuxin distributionSAUR19Arabidopsis hypocotylsGenesSoybean hypocotylsLateral redistributionAuxinARF7ArabidopsisHypocotylBending growth
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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Honors
honor Resource-Limited Award
10/14/2025National AwardThe American Society for Human GeneticsDetailsUnited Stateshonor Research Grants Award
09/01/2025National AwardAmerican Parkinson Disease AssociationDetailsUnited Stateshonor Multi-omics Meta-analysis (MoMa) program
07/01/2025Other AwardAligning Science Across Parkinson's: ASAPDetailsUnited States
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Fl 10, Ste 1029
New Haven, CT 06510