About
Dr. Shenglong Zhang is the Founder and President of DirectSeq Biosciences, Inc., and a tenured Professor at the University at Albany, SUNY. With over 20 years of pioneering work in next-generation mass spectrometry - based sequencing (NextGen MassSpec-Seq), Dr. Zhang has been a leading innovator in the development of direct RNA sequencing technologies, with a focus on decoding the human RNome — the complete repertoire of RNA molecules and their chemical modifications— and advancing the validation of RNAbased therapeutics.
Dr. Zhang earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University, where he contributed to the early development of sequencing-by-synthesis methods foundational to next-generation sequencing (NGS). He completed his postdoctoral training at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Harvard University under Nobel Laureate Dr. Jack Szostak, initiating his groundbreaking exploration of mass spectrometry as a direct sequencing tool.
Throughout his academic career, Dr. Zhang has continuously advanced the use of mass spectrometry as a direct readout for RNA sequencing, a paradigm shift from traditional optical or electronic readouts used in sequencing. His work, supported by over $9 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, has significantly expanded the understanding of RNA biology and its applications in precision and personal medicine.
At DirectSeq Biosciences, Dr. Zhang leads the development of a patented RNA sequencing platform powered by NextGen MassSpec-Seq. Unlike conventional technologies such as Illumina or Nanopore, which rely on cDNA synthesis and offer limited insights into RNA modifications, respectively, DirectSeq's platform enables direct, unbiased, and comprehensive sequencing of true RNA sequence. It is uniquely positioned to become the flagship platform technology for the RNome Project, an ambitious initiative to sequence complete RNA transcripts along with their full spectrum of chemical modifications.
Under Dr. Zhang's leadership, DirectSeq is growing from a premier provider of advanced RNA sequencing services for academic institutions, biotech/pharmaceutical companies, and federal agencies, to a full-spectrum biotechnology company providing RNA sample preparation kits, analytical software, and proprietary instrumentation to elevate the safety of RNA therapeutics and power the human RNome and beyond.