World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
49
Citations
10935
World Ranking
17927
National Ranking
7338

Overview

Kai Zinn is affiliated with the California Institute of Technology in the United States. Their research focuses predominantly on the fields of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, with significant contributions to Molecular Biology, Immunology, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging.

The main topics of their work include:

  • Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
  • Cellular transport and secretion
  • Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research
  • Galectins and Cancer Biology
  • Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
  • Animal Behavior and Reproduction
  • CRISPR and Genetic Engineering

Kai Zinn has published extensively, with a notable presence in journals such as bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), where they appeared in 10 publications. Other frequent venues include eLife (4 publications), Cell, Current Biology, and Cell Reports.

Some of their recent papers are:

  • A Human IgSF Cell-Surface Interactome Reveals a Complex Network of Protein-Protein Interactions, 2020, Cell
  • Investigation of Drosophila fruitless neurons that express Dpr/DIP cell adhesion molecules, 2021, eLife
  • Neural mechanism of spatio-chromatic opponency in the Drosophila amacrine neurons, 2021, Current Biology
  • Affinity requirements for control of synaptic targeting and neuronal cell survival by heterophilic IgSF cell adhesion molecules, 2022, Cell Reports
  • Neural connectivity molecules best identify the heterogeneous clock and dopaminergic cell types in the Drosophila adult brain, 2023, Science Advances

Frequent collaborators in their research include Lawrence Shapiro, Michael Anaya, Woj M. Wojtowicz, Jost Vielmetter, and Dirk H. Siepe. Collaboration appears consistent across multiple publications, indicating ongoing research partnerships.

Best Publications

  • Identification of two distinct regulatory regions adjacent to the human β-interferon gene

    Kai Zinn;Daniel Dimaio;Tom Maniatis

  • Sequence analysis and neuronal expression of fasciclin I in grasshopper and drosophila

    Kai Zinn;Linda B. McAllister;Linda B. McAllister;Corey S. Goodman;Corey S. Goodman

  • Receptor Tyrosine Phosphatases Are Required for Motor Axon Guidance in the Drosophila Embryo

    Chand J Desai;Joseph G Gindhart;Lawrence S.B Goldstein;Kai Zinn

  • Pair-rule expression patterns of even-skipped are found in both short- and long-germ beetles.

    Nipam H. Patel;Barry G. Condron;Kai Zinn

  • Heteromeric olfactory cyclic nucleotide-gated channels: a subunit that confers increased sensitivity to cAMP

    Jonathan Bradley;Jun Li;Norman Davidson;Henry A. Lester

  • Human β-interferon gene expression is regulated by an inducible enhancer element

    Stephen Goodbourn;Kai Zinn;Tom Maniatis

  • Drosophila Spastin Regulates Synaptic Microtubule Networks and Is Required for Normal Motor Function

    Nina Tang Sherwood;Qi Sun;Mingshan Xue;Bing Zhang

  • Development and plasticity of the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction

    Kaushiki P. Menon;Robert A. Carrillo;Kai Zinn

  • Profilin and the Abl Tyrosine Kinase Are Required for Motor Axon Outgrowth in the Drosophila Embryo

    Zachary Wills;Linsey Marr;Kai Zinn;Corey S Goodman

  • Kinesin Light Chains Are Essential for Axonal Transport in Drosophila

    Joseph G. Gindhart;Chand J. Desai;Sven Beushausen;Kai Zinn

  • Three receptor-linked protein-tyrosine phosphatases are selectively expressed on central nervous system axons in the Drosophila embryo.

    Shin Shay Tian;Pantelis Tsoulfas;Kai Zinn

  • A gain-of-function screen for genes controlling motor axon guidance and synaptogenesis in Drosophila

    Rachel Kraut;Kaushiki Menon;Kai Zinn

  • The translational repressor Pumilio regulates presynaptic morphology and controls postsynaptic accumulation of translation factor eIF-4E.

    Kaushiki P. Menon;Subhabrata Sanyal;Yasuaki Habara;Ricardo Sanchez

  • An Extracellular Interactome of Immunoglobulin and LRR Proteins Reveals Receptor-Ligand Networks

    Engin Özkan;Robert A. Carrillo;Catharine L. Eastman;Richard Weiszmann

  • Competition and cooperation among receptor tyrosine phosphatases control motoneuron growth cone guidance in Drosophila.

    Chand J. Desai;Neil X. Krueger;Haruo Saito;Kai Zinn

  • Ig Superfamily Ligand and Receptor Pairs Expressed in Synaptic Partners in Drosophila

    Liming Tan;Kelvin Xi Zhang;Matthew Y. Pecot;Sonal Nagarkar-Jaiswal

  • The Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan Syndecan Is an In Vivo Ligand for the Drosophila LAR Receptor Tyrosine Phosphatase

    A. Nicole Fox;Kai Zinn

  • Detection of factors that interact with the human β-interferon regulatory region in vivo by DNAase I footprinting

    Kai Zinn;Tom Maniatis

  • Functional expression of the heteromeric 'olfactory' cyclic nucleotide- gated channel in the hippocampus: A potential effector of synaptic plasticity in brain neurons

    Jonathan Bradley;Yinong Zhang;Robert Bakin;Henry A. Lester

  • Retinal Axon Target Selection in Drosophila Is Regulated by a Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase

    Paul A. Garrity;Paul A. Garrity;Chi-Hon Lee;Iris Salecker;Heather C. Robertson

Frequent Co-Authors

K. Christopher Garcia
K. Christopher Garcia Stanford University
Henry A. Lester
Henry A. Lester California Institute of Technology
Norman Davidson
Norman Davidson California Institute of Technology
Seymour Benzer
Seymour Benzer California Institute of Technology
Nipam H. Patel
Nipam H. Patel Marine Biological Laboratory
S. Lawrence Zipursky
S. Lawrence Zipursky University of California, Los Angeles
Scott E. Fraser
Scott E. Fraser University of Southern California
Cornelia I. Bargmann
Cornelia I. Bargmann Rockefeller University
Joseph W. Thornton
Joseph W. Thornton University of Chicago
Hugo J. Bellen
Hugo J. Bellen Baylor College of Medicine

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