Zheng Zhou

Zheng Zhou is a Professor at the Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine. He is also a member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of apoptotic and necrotic cell clearance in Caenorhabditis elegans, particularly the recognition, engulfment, and degradation of dying cells.

Zhou holds a BS from Fudan University (Shanghai, China) and a PhD in Biochemistry from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed postdoctoral training at MIT and Baylor College of Medicine. His honors include the Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award (2018) and multiple fellowships, including from the Robert A. Welch Foundation and the Rita Allen Foundation.

His research interests include understanding how dying cells expose 'eat-me' signals like phosphatidylserine and how phagocytic receptors (e.g., CED-1) mediate clearance. His lab uses genetic screens, live imaging, and molecular tools to study these processes in C. elegans. Recent work highlights roles of calcium signaling in necrotic cell recognition and autophagy-phagocytosis crosstalk in apoptotic cell degradation.

Zhou has mentored numerous students and postdocs, including Omar Peña-Ramos (now a postdoc) and Jonathan Pickett. His lab is funded by grants such as an R35 MRA award and an RO1 supplement supporting research on lipid transfer proteins' roles in cell-cell interactions.

Labs/Teams: The Zhou Lab at Baylor College of Medicine focuses on programmed cell death and clearance mechanisms. Collaborations include work on dynamin function and signaling pathways in phagocytosis.