Xuguo (Joe) Zhou

Xuguo (Joe) Zhou is a Professor of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, holding the Kearns, Metcalf and Flint Endowed Chair. He is affiliated with the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

His research focuses on

• Behavior, physiology, and genomics of social insects
• Chemical communication in insect systems
• Insect-plant interactions

Recent publications highlight his work in RNA interference mechanisms in beetles, CRISPR gene editing applications in insect pigmentation, and studies on herbicide degradation pathways. These contributions span molecular entomology, agricultural biotechnology, and environmental microbiology.

Zhou's work integrates genomic approaches with ecological and physiological studies, particularly evident in his studies on gene function analysis in pest species and development of RNA-based biopesticide strategies.

He is based in Morrill Hall, Urbana, Illinois, and can be contacted at xgzhou@illinois.edu.