Zhen obtained his PhD degree from the University of Otago, Faculty of Dentistry, Sir John Walsh Research Institute, and majored in Dentistry (2017-2020). During his doctoral study, he mainly focused on the regenerative biology of deer antler, the unique mammalian model of stem cell-based epimorphic regeneration. In order to achieve this, he utilized different quantitative proteomic techniques including 2D-DIGE and label-free quantification to investigate the differentially expressed proteins and molecular mechanisms underlying antler generation and regeneration. In January 2021, Zhen joined the Guomics team as a postdoctoral researcher for proteomic big data research.

Representative Publications
1. Dong, Z., Li, C., & Coates, D. (2020). PTN− PTPRZ signaling is involved in deer antler stem cell regulation during tissue regeneration. Journal of Cellular Physiology.
2. Dong, Z., Haines, S., & Coates, D. (2020). Proteomic Profiling of Stem Cell Tissues during Regeneration of Deer Antler: A Model of Mammalian Organ Regeneration. Journal of Proteome Research, 19(4), 1760-1775.
3. Dong, Z., Coates, D., Liu, Q., Sun, H., & Li, C. (2019). Quantitative proteomic analysis of deer antler stem cells as a model of mammalian organ regeneration. Journal of proteomics, 195(3), 98-113.
4. Dong, Z., Ba, H., Zhang, W., Coates, D., & Li, C. (2016). iTRAQ-Based Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of the Potentiated and Dormant Antler Stem Cells. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 17(11), 1778.