Positions
- Professor
-
Biochemistry
糖心视频 of Medicine
- Member
-
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
糖心视频 of Medicine
Houston, Texas, United States
- Associate Professor
-
Biochemistry
糖心视频 of Medicine
Houston, Texas, United States
- Assistant Professor
-
Biochemistry
糖心视频 of Medicine
Houston, Texas, USA
Addresses
- BCM-MD Anderson Hall (Office)
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Room: BCMA-322B
Houston, TX, 77030-3498
United States
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship at Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
- 10/2001 - Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- Postdoctoral Training at 糖心视频 Of Medicine
- 07/1995 - Houston, Texas, United States
- PhD from 糖心视频 Of Medicine
- 06/1994 - Houston, Texas, United States
- BS from Fudan University
- 01/1988 - Shanghai, China
Honors & Awards
- Fellowship
- China U.S. Biochemical Examination Association
- Predoctoral Fellowship
- Robert A. Welch Foundation
- The V. C. Joshi Memorial Award
- 糖心视频 of Medicine
- 2nd Place Award for Poster Presentation
- 糖心视频 of Medicine
- Arnold O. Beckman Academic Achievement Award
- 糖心视频 of Medicine
- Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Fund
- Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Medical Foundation
- 1st Place Poster Presentation
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Cancer Research Annual Retreat
- Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Merck/MIT Collaboration Program
- Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Research Award
- The March of Dimes Birth Defect Foundation
- Scholar's Program Award
- Rita Allen Foundation
- Best Lecturer
- The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 糖心视频 of Medicine
- Best Lecturer
- The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 糖心视频 of Medicine
- Best Overall Course (Genetics A)
- The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 糖心视频 of Medicine
- Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award
- 糖心视频 of Medicine (05/2018)
- Best course in Chemical, Physical, and Structural Builogy
- 糖心视频 of Medicine Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (01/2021 - 05/2021)
Professional Interests
- Molecular genetic studies of clearance of apoptotic cells
Professional Statement
Clearance of Apoptotic and Necrotic Cells in the Nematode C. elegans
During an animal's development and adulthood many unwanted cells are eliminated by a process called "programmed cell death" or "apoptosis". Such cells undergo specific changes in appearance, die, and are quickly engulfed and digested by phagocytes, or engulfing cells. In addition, cells die due to injury, disease, or other pathological states, the 鈥渘ecrotic cells鈥, are also cleared efficiently within animal bodies. The clearance of dying cells is important because dying cells may contain material that, if released, could harm neighboring cells. Inefficient removal of dying cells or incorrect removal of cells that should normally live both result in human diseases. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that control each step in the process of dying cell clearance has important meanings to biological and medical researches. However, despite the recent burst in the study of cell death mechanisms, the mechanisms behind the removal of dying cells remain largely unknown. My laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms that control the recognition, engulfment, and degradation of apoptotic cells. We use the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism to identify genes and delineate the pathways controlling these events, with the belief that what we learn from C. elegans will be translated to humans.
Previously, I identified CED-1, a transmembrane C. elegans protein as a phagocytic receptor that is specifically expressed in engulfing cells, recognizes apoptotic cells, and initiates their engulfment. In my own laboratory, we have isolated a large number of C. elegans mutants defective in the removal of apoptotic cells. A combination of both forward and reverse genetic approaches have led us to identify proteins acting upstream or downstream of CED-1 in the signaling pathway, which provide conceptual advances in understanding how apoptotic cells are recognized, internalized, and degraded. Particularly, our research has focused on the following three critical steps that lead to the clearance of dying cells.
During an animal's development and adulthood many unwanted cells are eliminated by a process called "programmed cell death" or "apoptosis". Such cells undergo specific changes in appearance, die, and are quickly engulfed and digested by phagocytes, or engulfing cells. In addition, cells die due to injury, disease, or other pathological states, the 鈥渘ecrotic cells鈥, are also cleared efficiently within animal bodies. The clearance of dying cells is important because dying cells may contain material that, if released, could harm neighboring cells. Inefficient removal of dying cells or incorrect removal of cells that should normally live both result in human diseases. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that control each step in the process of dying cell clearance has important meanings to biological and medical researches. However, despite the recent burst in the study of cell death mechanisms, the mechanisms behind the removal of dying cells remain largely unknown. My laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms that control the recognition, engulfment, and degradation of apoptotic cells. We use the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism to identify genes and delineate the pathways controlling these events, with the belief that what we learn from C. elegans will be translated to humans.
Previously, I identified CED-1, a transmembrane C. elegans protein as a phagocytic receptor that is specifically expressed in engulfing cells, recognizes apoptotic cells, and initiates their engulfment. In my own laboratory, we have isolated a large number of C. elegans mutants defective in the removal of apoptotic cells. A combination of both forward and reverse genetic approaches have led us to identify proteins acting upstream or downstream of CED-1 in the signaling pathway, which provide conceptual advances in understanding how apoptotic cells are recognized, internalized, and degraded. Particularly, our research has focused on the following three critical steps that lead to the clearance of dying cells.
Professional Development
- Mentor Training for Biomedical Researchers
- Workshop (Participant, 2018)
- Sponsor: NIH National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN)
Selected Publications
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Furuta Y, Zhou Z.. " " Front Cell Dev Biol.. 2023 ; 11 : 1170551.
Pubmed PMID: . -
Pe帽a-Ramos O, Zhou Z.. " " STAR Protoc.. 2023 Jun 3; 4 (2) : 102332.
Pubmed PMID: . -
Pe帽a-Ramos O, Chiao L, Liu X, Yu X, Yao T, He H, Zhou Z.. " " eLife. 2022 Jan 4; 11 : 72466.
Pubmed PMID: . -
Furuta Y, Pena-Ramos O, Li Z, Chiao L, Zhou Z.. " " PLoS Genet.. 2021 Feb ; 17 (2) : e1009066.
Pubmed PMID: .
Memberships
- Genetic Society of America
- Member
- American Society of Cell Biology
- Member
- American Cancer Society Institutional
- Member
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