Faculty
SELF-INTRODUCTION：
Jia Ning, Associate Professor at the School of Medicine and Ph.D. supervisor, was named one of the MIT Technology Review’s “Innovators Under 35” in the Asia-Pacific region (2022) and received the Blavatnik Regional Award for Young Scientists in Chemistry (2020). She earned her Ph.D. in 2016 from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Science and Technology of China, followed by postdoctoral research at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the United States. She joined the School of Medicine at Southern University of Science and Technology in May 2021.
Her research has long focused on the mechanisms of bacterial immunity against bacteriophages. In recent years, she has published 15 papers as corresponding author, including in Science (2025a, 2025b), Nature Chemical Biology (2024), Molecular Cell (2023, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c), Nature Communications (2024a, 2024b, 2022), Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology (2021), and Cell Research (2024, 2022, 2020). Notably, her 2022 Nature Communications paper was recommended by Faculty Opinions (formerly F1000Prime).
She has led multiple projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and various provincial and municipal programs. Dr. Jia also serves as a reviewer for journals such as Nature, Science, Nature Microbiology, Nature Catalysis, and Nature Chemical Biology, and is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) and mLife.
EDUCATION:
2006-2010 Ocean University of China, BS in Marine biology.
2010-2016 University of Science and Technology of China, PhD in Biology. Advisor: Zhou, Cong-Zhao/ Chen, Yuxing
WOKRING EXPERIENCE:
2021.06-present, Associate Professor，School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology（SUStech）
2021.05-2022.05, Assistant Professor，School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology（SUStech）
2017-2021 Research Fellow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA. Advisor: Dinshaw J. Patel
HONORS AND AWARDS:
2024 Editorial Board member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (the JBC) and mLife
2022 MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 Asia Pacific 2022.
2021 Shenzhen overseas high-level talents
2020 Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists, Winner in Chemistry.
2016 Caisi-Zebrafish Research Award
2010 Outstanding Graduate in Shandong Province
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
1）Elucidating the mechanism of the arm race between microorganisms and their host immune systems, particularly the prokaryotic immune systems that defend against the invading phages.
2）Developing biotechnological tools, including gene editing tools based on CRISPR-Cas systems, to advance our ability to understand and manipulate biological systems.
MANUSCRIPT REVIEWER AND EDITOR：
Reviewer for Nature, Science, Nature Catalysis, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Communications, Nucleic Acids Research, and Journal of Biological Chemistry;
Editorial Board Member of Journal of Biological Chemistry and mLife.
PUBLICATIONS：
（# first author; *corresponding author ）
1. Song, X. Y.#; Xia, Y.#; Zhang, J. T.#; Liu, Y. J.; Qi, H.; Wei, X. Y.; Hu, H.;Xia, Y.; Liu, X.; Ma, Y.F.; Jia, N.* (2025). Bacterial reverse transcriptase synthesizes long polyA-rich cDNA for anti-phage defense, Science, 2025 May 1:eads4639. doi: 10.1126/science.ads4639.
2. Hayes, V. M. #; Zhang, J. T.#; Katz, M. A.; Li, Y.; Kocsis, B.; Jia, N.*; Meeske, A. J.* (2025). RNA-mediated CRISPR-Cas13 inhibition via crRNA structural mimicry. Science, 388(6745): 387-391
3. Zhang, J.T.; Wei, X.Y.; Cui, N.; Tian, R. & Jia, N. * (2024). Target ssDNA activates the NADase activity of prokaryotic SPARTA immune system. Nature Chemical Biology 20, 503-511 .
4. Cui, N.#; Zhang, J.T.#; Li, Z.; Wei, X.Y.; Wang, J. and Jia, N.* (2024). Tetramerization-dependent activation of the Sir2-associated short prokaryotic Argonaute immune system. Nature Communications 15, 8610 .
5. Zhang, J.T.#; Liu, X. Y.#; Li, Z.#;Wei, X.Y.; Song, X.Y.; Cui, N.; Zhong, J.; Li, H.; Jia, N.* (2024). Structure and genome editing activity of the novel CRISPR-Cas12o1 effector. Cell research. 10.1038/s41422-024-01050-y.
6. Zhang, J.T.#; Liu, X.Y.#; Li, Z.L.#; Wei, X.Y.; Song, X.Y.; Cui, N.; Zhong, J.; Li, H. and Jia, N.* (2024). Structural basis for phage-mediated activation and repression of bacterial DSR2 anti-phage defense system. Nature Communications 15, 2797.
7. Cui, N.#; Zhang, J.T.#; Li, Y.; Liu, Y.; Liu, X.Y.; Wang, C.; Huang, H.* and Jia, N.* (2023). Type IV-A CRISPR-Csf complex: assembly, dsDNA targeting and CasDinG recruitment. Molecular Cell 83, 2493-2508 e2495.
8. Duan, Z.#; Zhang, X.#; Zhang, J.T.; Li, S; Liu, R.; Sun, J.; Zhao, Q.; Jia, N.; Jia, N.* and Zhu, J.K.* (2023). Molecular basis for DNA cleavage by the hypercompact Cas12j-SF05. Cell Discovery 9, 117. 10.1038/s41421-023-00612-5.
9. Cui, N.#; Zhang, J.T.#; Li, Z.; Liu, X.Y.;Wang, C.; Huang, H.* and Jia, N.* (2022). Structural basis for the non-self RNA-activated protease activity of the type III-E CRISPR nuclease-protease Craspase. Nature Communications 13, 7549.
10. Patel, D.J.*; Yu, Y. and Jia, N. (2022). Bacterial origins of cyclic nucleotide-activated antiviral immune signaling. Molecular Cell 82, 4591-4610.
11. Jia, N.* & Patel, D.J.* (2022). Structure-based evolutionary relationship between IscB and Cas9. Cell Research 32, 875-877.
12. Jia, N.*; Patel. D. J.* (2021). Structure-based functional mechanisms and biotechnology applications of anti-CRISPR proteins. Nature reviews. Molecular Cell Biology 22, 563-579, doi:10.1038/s41580-021-00371-9.
13. Meeske A. J.#; Jia, N.#; Cassel A.K.; Kozlova A.; Liao J.; Wiedmann M.; Patel D. J.*; Marraffini L. A.* (2020). A phage-encoded anti-CRISPR enables complete evasion of type VI-A CRISPR-Cas immunity. Science 369, 54-59.
14. Jia, N.*; Xie, W.; De La Cruz, J.M.; Eng, E.T.; Patel, D.J.* (2020). Structure-function insights into the initial step of DNA integration by a CRISPR-Cas-Transposon complex. Cell Research 30, 182-184.
15. Jia, N.*; Jones, R.; Yang, G.; Ouerfelli, O.; Patel, D.J.* (2019). CRISPR-Cas III-A Csm6 CARF Domain Is a Ring Nuclease Triggering Stepwise cA4 Cleavage with ApA>p Formation Terminating RNase Activity. Molecular Cell 75, 944-956 e946.
16. Jia, N.*; Jones, R.; Sukenick, G.; Patel, D.J.* (2019). Second Messenger cA4 Formation within the Composite Csm1 Palm Pocket of Type III-A CRISPR-Cas Csm Complex and Its Release Path. Molecular Cell 75, 933-943 e936.
17. Jia, N.*; Mo, C.Y.;Wang, C.; Eng, E.T.; Marraffini, L.A.; Patel, D.J.* (2019). Type III-A CRISPR-Cas Csm Complexes: Assembly, Periodic RNA Cleavage, DNase Activity Regulation, and Autoimmunity. Molecular Cell 73, 264-277 e265.
18. Jia, N.#; Unciuleac, M.#; Xue C.; Greene E.C.; Patel, D.J.*; Shuman, S.* (2019). Structures and single-molecule analysis of bacterial motor nuclease AdnAB illuminate the mechanism of DNA double-strand break resection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 116, 24507-24516.
19. Jia, N.; Liu, N.; Cheng, W.; Jiang, Y.L.; Sun, H.; Chen, L.L.; Peng, J.; Zhang, Y.; Ding, Y.H.; Zhang, Z.H.; et al. (2016). Structural basis for receptor recognition and pore formation of a zebrafish aerolysin-like protein. EMBO reports 17, 235-248.
20. Chen, L.L.; Xie, J.; Cao, D.D.; Jia, N.; Li, Y.J.; Sun, H.; Li, W.F.; Hu, B.; Chen, Y.; Zhou, C.Z. (2018). The pore-forming protein Aep1 is an innate immune molecule that prevents zebrafish from bacterial infection. Dev Comp Immunol 82, 49-54.
21. Zhou, K.; Jia, N.; Hu, C.; Jiang, Y.L.; Yang, J.P.; Chen, Y.; Li, S.; Li, W.F.; Zhou, C.Z. (2014). Crystal structure of juvenile hormone epoxide hydrolase from the silkworm Bombyx mori. Proteins 82, 3224-3229.
22. Song, N.; Jia, N.; Yanagimoto, T.; Lin, L.; Gao, T. (2013). Genetic differentiation of Trachurus japonicus from the Northwestern Pacific based on the mitochondrial DNA control region. Mitochondrial DNA 24, 705-712.
23. He, Y.X.; Zhang, N.N.; Li, W.F.; Jia, N.; Chen, B.Y.; Zhou, K.; Zhang, J.; Chen, Y.; Zhou, C.Z. (2012). N-Terminal domain of Bombyx mori fibroin mediates the assembly of silk in response to pH decrease. Journal of molecular biology 418, 197-207.