Beiyun Zhou

Dr. Beiyun Zhou is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on mechanisms regulating alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) function, differentiation, and plasticity in lung injury and repair. Key areas include the Hippo/YAP, Wnt/B-catenin, TGF-β/Smad, and GATA6 pathways, as well as transcriptomic and epigenomic regulations in pulmonary fibrosis. She uses AEC-specific Grp78 knockout mice to study ER stress-mediated fibrosis and identifies therapeutic targets. Dr. Zhou holds a PhD and has published extensively on lung biology, with a focus on ER stress, epithelial-mesenchymal interactions, and alveolar cell biology.

Educational Background: PhD (specific discipline not listed).

Research Interests: Dr. Zhou’s work centers on understanding how signaling pathways and cellular stress responses contribute to lung disease progression. Her team investigates:

• Mechanisms of alveolar epithelial cell dysfunction in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
• Role of GRP78/BiP in ER homeostasis and lung tumorigenesis.
• Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and fibrosis pathways.
• Development of in vitro models for studying lung diseases, including 3D spheroid systems.

Publications Trends: Her recent work emphasizes multiomic approaches (e.g., single-cell RNA-seq, spatial transcriptomics) to identify novel biomarkers like TRIP13 and GPRC5A. Key themes include fibroblast-endothelial interactions in LAM pathogenesis and the therapeutic potential of targeting ER stress pathways.

Awards and Grants: Not explicitly mentioned in provided text.

Advising and Labs: While student names are not listed, her research team likely focuses on collaborative projects involving molecular biology, cell culture models, and preclinical mouse studies. No lab-specific details provided.