
Hao Zhu, M.D.
Associate Professor
Endowed Title Kern Wildenthal, M.D., Ph.D., Distinguished Professorship of Pediatric Research
Department Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern | Internal Medicine | Pediatrics
Graduate Programs Cancer Biology, Genetics, Development and Disease
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Biography
Hao Zhu earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Duke University, followed by an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and MIT. He underwent training in internal medicine at University of California, San Francisco and medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. From 2008 to 2012, Dr. Zhu performed postdoctoral research at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he explored connections among RNA biology, cancer and regeneration in mouse models. In 2012, he joined the faculty of UT Southwestern and the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern. He is also an attending physician in the Multidisciplinary Liver Cancer Clinic at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Zhu is the recipient of a Burroughs Wellcome Career Award for Medical Scientists (2012), a CPRIT Scholar Award (2012) and a Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Research Grant (2016).
The Zhu laboratory is interested in understanding the relationship between injury, regeneration, and cancer. They are focused on identifying the genes and mechanisms that regulate regenerative capacity in the liver and understanding how these contribute to hepatocellular carcinoma development – the third leading cause of cancer death in the world.
Education
- Medical School
- Harvard Medical School (2005)
- Residency
- University of California, San Francisco (2007), Internal Medicine
- Fellowship
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2011), Hematology Oncology
Research Interest
- Epigenetics
- Liver cancer
- Mechanisms of organ regeneration
- RNA biology
Publications
Featured Publications
- Somatic Mutations Increase Hepatic Clonal Fitness and Regeneration in Chronic Liver Disease.
- Zhu M, Lu T, Jia Y, Luo X, Gopal P, Li L, Odewole M, Renteria V, Singal AG, Jang Y, Ge K, Wang SC, Sorouri M, Parekh JR, MacConmara MP, Yopp AC, Wang T, Zhu H, Cell 2019 Apr
- The Polyploid State Plays a Tumor-Suppressive Role in the Liver.
- Zhang S, Zhou K, Luo X, Li L, Tu HC, Sehgal A, Nguyen LH, Zhang Y, Gopal P, Tarlow BD, Siegwart DJ, Zhu H Dev. Cell 2018 Feb
- Knockdown of Anillin Actin Binding Protein Blocks Cytokinesis in Hepatocytes and Reduces Liver Tumor Development in Mice without Affecting Regeneration.
- Zhang S, Nguyen LH, Zhou K, Tu HC, Sehgal A, Nassour I, Li L, Gopal P, Goodman J, Singal AG, Yopp A, Zhang Y, Siegwart DJ, Zhu H Gastroenterology 2017 Dec
- Arid1a Has Context-Dependent Oncogenic and Tumor Suppressor Functions in Liver Cancer.
- Sun X, Wang SC, Wei Y, Luo X, Jia Y, Li L, Gopal P, Zhu M, Nassour I, Chuang JC, Maples T, Celen C, Nguyen LH, Wu L, Fu S, Li W, Hui L, Tian F, Ji Y, Zhang S, Sorouri M, Hwang TH, Letzig L, James L, Wang Z, Yopp AC, Singal AG, Zhu H Cancer Cell 2017 Nov 32 5 574-589.e6
- Suppression of the SWI/SNF Component Arid1a Promotes Mammalian Regeneration.
- Sun X, Chuang JC, Kanchwala M, Wu L, Celen C, Li L, Liang H, Zhang S, Maples T, Nguyen LH, Wang SC, Signer RA, Sorouri M, Nassour I, Liu X, Xu J, Wu M, Zhao Y, Kuo YC, Wang Z, Xing C, Zhu H Cell Stem Cell 2016 Mar
- Lin28b is sufficient to drive liver cancer and necessary for its maintenance in murine models.
- Nguyen LH, Robinton DA, Seligson MT, Wu L, Li L, Rakheja D, Comerford SA, Ramezani S, Sun X, Parikh MS, Yang EH, Powers JT, Shinoda G, Shah SP, Hammer RE, Daley GQ, Zhu H Cancer Cell 2014 Aug 26 2 248-61
- Lin28 enhances tissue repair by reprogramming cellular metabolism.
- Shyh-Chang N, Zhu H, Yvanka de Soysa T, Shinoda G, Seligson MT, Tsanov KM, Nguyen L, Asara JM, Cantley LC, Daley GQ Cell 2013 Nov 155 4 778-92
- Arid1a loss drives non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in mice via epigenetic dysregulation of hepatic lipogenesis and fatty acid oxidation.
- Moore A, Wu L, Chuang JC, Sun X, Luo X, Gopal P, Li L, Celen C, Zimmer M, Zhu H Hepatology 2018 Dec
- restrains pancreatic neoplasia formation.
- Wang SC, Nassour I, Xiao S, Zhang S, Luo X, Lee J, Li L, Sun X, Nguyen LH, Chuang JC, Peng L, Daigle S, Shen J, Zhu H Gut 2018 Oct
- Arid1b haploinsufficient mice reveal neuropsychiatric phenotypes and reversible causes of growth impairment.
- Zhu H, Celen C, Chuang JC, Luo X, Nijem N, Walker AK, Chen F, Zhang S, Chung AS, Nguyen LH, Nassour I, Budhipramono A, Sun X, Bok LA, McEntagart M, Gevers E, Birnbaum SG, Eisch AJ, Powell CM, Ge WP, Santen GW, Chahrour M Elife 2017 Jul 6
Honors & Awards
- Member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation
(2018) - SU2C Innovative Research Grant
(2016-2019) - Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists
(2012) - CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research
(2012) - Magna cum laude and James Tolbert Shipley Prize for MD Honors Thesis, Harvard Medical School
(2005)