Jian Zhou

Jian Zhou is an Assistant Professor in the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He holds the Lupe Murchison Foundation Scholar in Medical Research and CPRIT Scholar titles. Before joining UTSW, he was a Flatiron Research Fellow at the Center for Computational Biology in New York. He earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Peking University and a Ph.D. in Quantitative and Computational Biology from Princeton University.

Education:

• B.S., Biological Sciences, Peking University
• Ph.D., Quantitative and Computational Biology, Princeton University

Research Interests: The Zhou Lab focuses on the intersection of machine learning and genomics. Key areas include developing computational methods to understand genome-based regulation, genetic basis of diseases, and advancing AI for genomics. Specific topics encompass 3D genome architecture modeling, noncoding variant impact analysis, and interpretable single-cell data frameworks. The lab also explores evolutionary genomics and machine learning method development for scientific applications.

Publications highlight advancements in predictive modeling of genomic sequences, variant effects, and disease mechanisms, with applications in kidney disorders, autism, and cancer.

Awards:

• Lupe Murchison Foundation Scholar in Medical Research
• Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar

Labs/Teams: The Zhou Lab is located at UT Southwestern’s South Campus, leveraging advanced computational resources including GPU clusters. Research focuses on decoding regulatory genomes, evolutionary genomics, and AI-driven biomedical discovery. Open positions include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and data scientists.