Yan Zhou

Yan Zhou is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology at the University of Saskatchewan's Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and a Scientist/Project Leader (Influenza) at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO). His academic credentials include a MSc from Nankai University (China), a PhD from Justus-Liebig University (Germany), and postdoctoral fellowships at VIDO and the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Zhou specializes in molecular virology, focusing on influenza virus pathogenesis, vaccine development, and hepatitis C virus mechanisms. His research has explored live attenuated influenza vaccines, viral immune evasion strategies, and host-pathogen interactions involving NLRP3 inflammasomes, PI3K signaling pathways, and cGAS-STING activation.

Key research areas include:

• Molecular mechanisms of influenza virus replication and host immune response
• Development of bivalent live attenuated influenza vaccines for swine
• Role of viral proteins (e.g., NS1, PB2) in immune modulation and pathogenicity
• 3D bioprinting of respiratory tissue models for infection studies

Publications highlight breakthroughs in swine influenza vaccine efficacy, H5N1 virus attenuation strategies, and hepatitis C virus lipid metabolism interactions. Recent work extends to bioengineering advancements in respiratory tissue modeling and nanoparticle delivery systems for controlled antiviral release.