Rui Zhou Ph. D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Biological Chemistry and Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Department and Institute Affiliations
- Department of Medicine Biological Chemistry and Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
- Institute for Fundamental Biomedical Research, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Contact Information
Research and Education Building, Rm. 4130
600 Fifth Street S.
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
P: 727-767-2166
E:[email protected]
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Education
- B.Sc., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Peking University, Beijing, China, 1994
- M.Sc., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China, 1997
- Ph.D., Biochemistry, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2003
- Research Fellow, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Adviser: Dr. Norbert Perrimon, 11/2003 to 1/2011
- Visiting Fellow, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Advisor: Dr. Gregory Hannon, 6/2007 to 10/2007
Overview
Dr. Zhou is a scientist in the Johns Hopkins All Children's Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute and a member of the Center for RNA Biology. He has a secondary affiliation with the Institute for Fundamental Biomedical Research. He also is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Biological Chemistry and Oncology in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Norbert Perrimon, Ph.D., Dr. Zhou joined Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla, California, where he worked as an independent investigator until 2018 when he joined Johns Hopkins All Children's.
Regulatory non-coding RNAs play a key role in a wide array of physiological processes, including cell cycle, development, innate immunity and homeostasis. Dysregulation of non-coding RNA production or function can lead to various pathological conditions in humans. Dr. Zhou’s group uses a combination of biochemical, genetic and functional genomic approaches to study the function and regulation of non-coding RNAs. His lab particularly focuses on how defects in microRNA and circular RNA production and/or function can lead to immune disorder, defective neural development and tumor formation.
Honors and Awards
- Special Fellow, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2007 to 2010
- Short-term Scientific Exchange Award, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2007
- Fellow, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2004 to 2007
- Recognition of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Harvard University, 1999 and 2001
- Director’s Award, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1996
- Di Ao Scholarship, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1996
- Bao Gang Scholarship, Peking University, 1994
- Guang Hua Scholarship, Peking University, 1991 to 1993
- Freshman Scholarship, Peking University, 1990
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Research Interests
During doctoral training with Tom Maniatis, Ph.D., at Harvard University, Dr. Zhou identified and functionally characterized several novel components of the signaling pathway governing the Drosophila antibacterial innate immunity. As a postdoctoral fellow with Norbert Perrimon, Ph.D., and Greg Hannon, Ph.D., he conducted several genome-wide RNAi screens that identified and established the function of many novel components of the Jak/Stat and RNA interference pathways.
As an independent investigator he is continuing to employ a combination of biochemical, genetic, genomic and functional genomic approaches to investigate the molecular mechanism governing the biogenesis of regulatory non-coding RNAs, and to elucidate their function in innate immunity, neuro-development and tumor formation.
Dr. Zhou’s research interests include:
- Molecular mechanism underlying regulatory/non-coding RNA biogenesis and function
- Innate immunity
- Neurodevelopment
- Cancer
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Select Publications
- Xiong XP, Kurthkoti K, Chang KY, Li JL, Ren XJ, Ni JQ, Rana TM, *Zhou R. miR-34 modulates innate immunity and ecdysone signaling in Drosophila. PLoS Pathogens. 2016; 12(11):e1006034. (*corresponding author).
- Xiong XP, Vogler G, Kurthkoti K, Samsonova A, *Zhou R. SmD1 Modulates the miRNA Pathway Independently of Its Pre-mRNA Splicing Function. PLoS Genetics. 2015; 11(8):e1005475. (*corresponding author).
- Xiong XP, Kurthkoti K, Chang KY, Lichinchi G, De N, Schneemann A, MacRae IJ, Rana TM, *Perrimon N, *Zhou R. Core small nucleoprotein particle splicing factor SmD1 modulates RNA interference in Drosophila. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2013; 110(41):16520-5. (*co-corresponding author).
- *Czech B, *Zhou R, Erlich Y, Brennecke J, Binari R, Villata C, Gordon A, Perrimon N, Hannon GJ. Hierarchical rules for Argonaute loading in Drosophila. Molecular Cell. 2009; 36(3):445-456. (*equal contribution). PMCID: 2795325.
- *Zhou R, *Hotta I, Delni AM, Hong P, Perrimon N, Hannon GJ. Comparative analysis of Argonaute-dependent small RNA pathways in Drosophila. Molecular Cell. 2008; 32(4):592-599. (*equal contribution). PMCID: 2615197.
Publication Links
National Center for Biotechnology Information