Junying Zheng, PhD

Dr. Junying Zheng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Johns Hopkins University. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she also completed her postdoctoral training and received additional bioinformatics training. Dr. Zheng’s expertise lies in applying bioinformatics and various omics approaches, including single-cell transcriptomics, to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying various diseases. One of her major discoveries is the identification of a specific astrocytic subtype that regulates central sensitization during neuropathic pain.

Dr. Zheng joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as an Instructor to study the mechanisms of skeletal pain. She serves as the Principal Investigator for the In Vivo Model and Histology Core of the P01 grant “Skeleton and Joint Degeneration with Aging” in the Center for Musculoskeletal Research.

Her research investigates chronic low back pain (LBP), a pathological condition involving central sensitization. In this condition, the central nervous system undergoes structural, functional, and chemical changes, leading to heightened sensitivity to pain stimuli. Dr. Zheng’s work explores how nociceptive signaling from the spinal porous endplate is transmitted to higher levels of pain circuitry, contributing to central sensitization and chronic LBP. She will also utilize her expertise, particularly in single-cell transcriptomics, to participate in studies on PGE2 skeletal interoception and osteoarthritis pain.