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  1. Science & Research (NCTR)

Huizhong Chen Ph.D.

Research Microbiologist — Division of Microbiology

Dr. Huizhong Chen, Research Microbiologist, NCTR Division of Microbiology

Huizhong Chen, Ph.D.
(870) 543-7121
NCTRResearch@fda.hhs.gov  

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 About  |  Publications  |  Lab Member

Background

Dr. Huizhong Chen studied microbiology at Shandong University, China and graduated with a Bachelor of Science. He then attended the graduate school at the same institution and earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in microbiology for work on biodegradation of plant materials by microorganisms. Dr. Chen accepted an assistant professor position at the Institute of Microbiology at Shandong University and then further advanced his career as a visiting scientist in the Institute of Biochemistry at the University of Graz. He then served as a postdoctoral fellow and an assistant research professor at the University of Georgia. Additionally, he worked as a senior scientist at Aureozyme, Inc. Prior to joining FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR), Dr. Chen's research focused on understanding enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose by microbial enzymes. In 2002, he joined NCTR's Division of Microbiology as a research microbiologist. His notable achievements include:

  • Excellent Achievement Award in Natural Science from the Association for Science and Technology of Shandong Province (China) for converting cellulosic waste from paper mills to ethanol (1989).
  • Achievement Award from the Education Committee of Shandong Province (China) for his study of the xylanase system from fungi (1991). 
  • FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation Award for furthering the FDA's mission in protecting public health (2010). 
  • NCTR Director’s Award for exceptional leadership in developing and conducting a research program to evaluate the impact of cosmetic products on human skin microbiota (2011).
  • NCTR Scientific Achievement Award for Excellence in Research for solving critical challenges related to food contaminants, women’s health, tobacco, and nanotechnology (2013).
  • NCTR Director’s Award for outstanding achievement in compounded drug safety research as part of a team. 
  • Seven U.S. and international patents (2023).

Research Interests

Lack of sterility assurance and contamination are major public health risks caused by drug compounding. Serious health problems and significant medical costs can result from the inappropriate application of sporicidal agents. Bacterial endospores present significant challenges for pharmaceutical facilities because they are prevalent in the environment and intrinsically resistant to heat, desiccation, radiation, and chemical assault. Sporicidal activities are influenced by many factors, including the spore strain, quality of spores, organic load, carrier material, and contact time. False-positive sporicidal results can occur due to ineffective neutralization methods, inaccurate contact times, sporistatic effects, or bactericidal effects. Dr. Chen and his collaborators from various FDA centers are using a combination of current and traditional microbiological, toxicological, cell biological, and chemical techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of sporicidal products and establish a database to support FDA regulation on sporicidal disinfectants. 

Interactions between the microbiota and human host have implications for nutrition, infection, metabolism, toxicity, and cancer. Externally applied cosmetics containing nanoscale materials could potentially impact the microbial ecology of the skin, affecting human health by compromising the skin's permeability barrier, encouraging pathogen colonization, and increasing susceptibility to infection. Dr. Chen is collaborating with scientists from other FDA centers to examine the effects of nanoscale materials used in cosmetics and sunscreens on model microorganisms representative of the human-skin microbiota. The goal is to evaluate the potential risk of dermal exposure to nanomaterials on women's health. He employs a combination of advanced microbiological, nanotechnological, cell biological, and omics techniques to elucidate the interactions between the skin microbiota and the host in the presence of nanoscale materials used in cosmetics.

Many different molecules are coproduced from food, drugs, cosmetics, and xenobiotics by the host and its commensal microbiota. Changes in these co-metabolites can indicate the functional status of the commensal microbiome within the host, potentially affecting the host's health conditions. Dr. Chen is collaborating with scientists from NCTR and other FDA centers to 1) develop a new project utilizing metabolomics, next-generation sequencing, and immunology tools for functional assessment of the commensal microbiota; 2) identify patterns of host-commensal microbiota co-metabolites; and 3) link antibiotic resistance and mechanisms of xenobiotic metabolism to the functional commensal microbiome.
 

Professional Societies/National and International Groups

American Society for Microbiology
Member
1992 – Present

European Federation of Biotechnology
Member
1998 – Present
 

Selected Publications

Evaluating Cefoperazone-Induced Gut Metabolic Functional Changes in MR1-Deficient Mice.
Sun J., Cao Z., Smith A.D., Carlson P.E. Jr., Coryell M., Chen H., and Beger R.D. 
Metabolites. 2022, 12(5):380.

Optimization of Sporulation and Purification Methods for Sporicidal Efficacy Assessment on Bacillus Spores.
Li L., Jin J., Hu H., Deveau I.F., Foley S.L., and Chen H. 
J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2022, 49(4).

Bile Acid Profile and Its Changes in Response to Cefoperazone Treatment in MR1 Deficient Mice.
Sun J., Cao Z., Smith A.D., Carlson P.E. Jr., Coryell M., Chen H., and Beger R.D.
Metabolites. 2020. 10(4):127. 

Smokeless Tobacco Impacts Oral Microbiota in a Syrian Golden Hamster Cheek Pouch Carcinogenesis Model.
Jin J., Guo L., VonTungeln L., Vanlandingham M., Cerniglia C., and Chen H.
Anaerobe. 2018, pii: S1075-9964(18)30095-7. [Epub ahead of print]

Mutation Network-Based Understanding of Pleiotropic and Epistatic Mutational Behavior of Enterococcus faecalis FMN-Dependent Azoreductase.
Sun J., Kweon O., Jin J., He G., Li X., Cerniglia C., and Chen H.
Biochem Biophys Rep. 2017, 12:240-244. eCollection 2017 Dec.

Evaluation of Metabolism of Azo Dyes and Their Effects on Staphylococcus aureus Metabolome.
Sun J. Jin J., Beger R., Cerniglia C., and Chen H.
J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2017, 44(10):1471-1481. Epub 2017 Aug 7.

Metabolomics Evaluation of the Impact of Smokeless Tobacco Exposure on the Oral Bacterium Capnocytophaga sputigena.
Sun J., Jin J., Beger R., Cerniglia C., Yang M., and Chen H.
Toxicol In Vitro. 2016, 36:133-41.

Differential Gene Expression in Staphylococcus aureus Exposed to Orange II and Sudan III Azo Dyes.
Pan H., Xu J., Kweon O., Zou W., Feng J., He G., Cerniglia C. and Chen H.
J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2015, 42(5):745-57.

A Comparison of Conventional Methods for the Quantification of Bacterial Cells After Exposure to Metal Oxide Nanoparticles.
Pan H., Zhang Y., He G., Katagori N., and Chen H.
BMC Microbiol. 2014, 14:222.

Detection of Benzalkonium Chloride Resistance in Community Environmental Isolates of Staphylococci.
He G., Landry M., Chen H., Thorpe C., Walsh D., Varela M., and Pan H.
J Med Microbiol. 2014, 63(Pt 5):735-41.

Identification of the Enzyme Responsible for N-Acetylation of Norfloxacin by Microbacterium sp. Strain 4N2-2.
Kim D., Feng J., Chen H., Kweon O., Gao Y., Yu L., Burrowes V., and Sutherland J.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2013, 79(1):314-21.

Evaluation of Impact of Exposure of Sudan Azo Dyes and their Metabolites on Human Intestinal Bacteria.
Pan H., Feng J., He G., Cerniglia C., and Chen H.
Anaerobe. 2012, 18(4):445-53.

Probing the NADH- and Methyl Red-binding Site of a FMN-Dependent Azoreductase (AzoA) from Enterococcus faecalis.
Feng J., Kweon O., Xu H., Cerniglia C., and Chen H.
Arch Biochem Biophys. 2012, 520(2):99-107.

Toxicological Significance of Azo Dye Metabolism by Human Intestinal Microbiota.
Feng J., Cerniglia C., and Chen H.
Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2012, 4:568-86.

EmmdR, a New Member of the MATE Family of Multidrug Transporters, Extrudes Quinolones from Enterobacter cloacae.
He G., Thorpe C., Walsh D., Crow R., Chen H., Kumar S., and Varela M.
Arch Microbiol. 2011, 193(10):759-65.

SugE, a New Member of the SMR Family of Transporters, Contributes to Antimicrobial Resistance in Enterobacter cloacae.
He G., Zhang C., Crow R., Thorpe C., Chen H., Kumar S., Tsuchiya T., and Varela M.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2011, 55(8):3954-7.

Effects of Orange II and Sudan III Azo Dyes and Their Metabolites on Staphylococcus aureus.
Pan H., Feng J., Cerniglia C., and Chen H.
J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2011, 38(10):1729-38.

Identification and Molecular Characterization of a Novel Flavin-Free NADPH Preferred Azoreductase Encoded by azoB in Pigmentiphaga Kullae K24.
Chen H., Feng J., Kweon O., Xu H., and Cerniglia C.
BMC Biochem. 2010, 11:13.

Sudan Azo Dyes and Para Red Degradation by Prevalent Bacteria of the Human Gastrointestinal Tract.
Xu H., Heinze T., Paine D., Cerniglia C., and Chen H.
Anaerobe. 2010, 16(2):114-9.

Metabolism of Azo Dyes by Human Skin Microbiota.
Stingley R., Zou W., Heinze T., Chen H., and Cerniglia C.
J Med Microbiol. 2010, 59(Pt 1):108-14.
 

Lab Member

Contact Information for all lab members:
(870) 543-7121
NCTRResearch@fda.hhs.gov  

Sunghyun Yoon, Ph.D.
Visiting Scientist

Contact Information
Huizhong Chen
(870) 543-7121
Expertise
Expertise
Approach
Domain
Technology & Discipline
Toxicology
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