Zhenyu Zhong, Ph.D.

2018-Present: Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track), Department of Immunology, UT Southwestern Medical Center

2013-2018: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego

2006-2013: Ph.D., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Chicago

• Chronic Liver Diseases
• Innate Immunity
• Mitochondrial Stress Reponse
• Tumor Immunology

Featured Publications

Prolonged hypernutrition impairs TREM2-dependent efferocytosis to license chronic liver inflammation and NASH development.

Wang X, He Q, Zhou C, Xu Y, Liu D, Fujiwara N, Kubota N, Click A, Henderson P, Vancil J, Marquez CA, Gunasekaran G, Schwartz ME, Tabrizian P, Sarpel U, Fiel MI, Diao Y, Sun B, Hoshida Y, Liang S, Zhong Z, Immunity 2022 Dec

Emerging Role of Mitochondrial DNA as a Major Driver of Inflammation and Disease Progression.

Zhong F, Liang S, Zhong Z, Trends Immunol. 2019 Nov

New mitochondrial DNA synthesis enables NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Zhong Z, Liang S, Sanchez-Lopez E, He F, Shalapour S, Lin XJ, Wong J, Ding S, Seki E, Schnabl B, Hevener AL, Greenberg HB, Kisseleva T, Karin M Nature 2018 Aug 560 7717 198-203

Limiting inflammation - The negative regulation of NF-B and the NLRP3 inflammasome

Afonina IS, Zhong Z, Karin M, Beyaert R Nat. Immunol. 2017 Jul 18 8 861-869

Papilloma-pseudovirus eradicates intestinal tumours and triples the lifespan of ApcMin/+ mice.

Zhong Z, Zhai Y, Bu P, Shah S, Qiao L Nat Commun 2017 8 Apr 11 15004.

Autophagy, Inflammation, and Immunity: A Troika Governing Cancer and Its Treatment.

Zhong Z, Sanchez-Lopez E, Karin M Cell 2016 Jul 166 2 288-298

NF-?B Restricts Inflammasome Activation via Elimination of Damaged Mitochondria.

Zhong Z, Umemura A, Sanchez-Lopez E, Liang S, Shalapour S, Wong J, He F, Boassa D, Perkins G, Ali SR, McGeough MD, Ellisman MH, Seki E, Gustafsson AB, Hoffman HM, Diaz-Meco MT, Moscat J, Karin M Cell 2016 Feb 164 5 896-910

TRPM2 links oxidative stress to NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Zhong Z, Zhai Y, Liang S, Mori Y, Han R, Sutterwala FS, Qiao L Nat Commun 2013 4 1611

Molecular signatures of long-term hepatocellular carcinoma risk in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Fujiwara N, Kubota N, Crouchet E, Koneru B, Marquez CA, Jajoriya AK, Panda G, Qian T, Zhu S, Goossens N, Wang X, Liang S, Zhong Z, Lewis S, Taouli B, Schwartz ME, Fiel MI, Singal AG, Marrero JA, Fobar AJ, Parikh ND, Raman I, Li QZ, Taguri M, Ono A, Aikata H, Nakahara T, Nakagawa H, Matsushita Y, Tateishi R, Koike K, Kobayashi M, Higashi T, Nakagawa S, Yamashita YI, Beppu T, Baba H, Kumada H, Chayama K, Baumert TF, Hoshida Y, Sci Transl Med 2022 Jun 14 650 eabo4474

Soluble a-synuclein-antibody complexes activate the NLRP3 inflammasome in hiPSC-derived microglia.

Trudler D, Nazor KL, Eisele YS, Grabauskas T, Dolatabadi N, Parker J, Sultan A, Zhong Z, Goodwin MS, Levites Y, Golde TE, Kelly JW, Sierks MR, Schork NJ, Karin M, Ambasudhan R, Lipton SA, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Apr 118 15

• American Association of Immunologists ASPIRE Award
  (2024)
• CPRIT Individual Investigator Research Award
  (2023)
• UT Southwestern Circle of Friends Synergy Grant Award
  (2022)
• NIH/NIGMS MIRA R35 Award
  (2021)
• American Cancer Society IRG Award
  (2020)
• Milstein Young Investigator Award, International Cytokine and Interferon Society
  (2020)
• NIH/NIAID K22 Career Transition Award
  (2020)
• UT Southwestern Circle of Friends Award in Cancer Research
  (2019)
• Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members
  (2018)
• University of Texas System Rising STARs Award
  (2018)
• American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Pinnacle Research Award
  (2017)
• Prevent Cancer Foundation Board of Directors Award
  (2017)
• American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Trainee Achievement Award
  (2016)
• Cancer Research Institute Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
  (2014)

• American Association for Cancer Research (2012)
• American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (2017)
• American Association of Immunologists (2010)
• International Cytokine and Interferon Society (2020)