Yuan Zhu, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile

Biography

Dr. Zhu received a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from Fudan University and obtained his Ph.D. in neuroscience from UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2000. He was a tenure-track Assistant Professor from 2003 to 2010, and an Associate Professor with tenure from 2010 to 2013 in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan Medical School. In 2013, Dr. Zhu joined Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C. While there he was the Gilbert Family Endowed Professor in Neurofibromatosis Research and served as Scientific Director of the Gilbert Family Neurofibromatosis Institute. Dr. Zhu was also a Professor with tenure in the Department of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. From 2013 to 2018, he served as an Associate Director of Research in the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research at Children’s National Hospital.

Dr. Zhu’s research findings in cancer research, particularly in the fields of brain tumors and neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), have been published in highly selective journals, such as Science, Cell, Nature Reviews Cancer, Cancer Cell, Nature Genetics, eLife, Cell Reports, Nature Communications, and Developmental Cell. His work has yielded major functional, molecular, and mechanistic insights into the mechanisms by which alterations in the NF1 tumor suppressor gene (TSG) as well as other TSGs (e.g., p53) contribute to developmental alterations in the brain. Dr. Zhu’s work has contributed to the understanding of the development and clinical behaviors of tumors arising in individuals with the NF1 condition as well as in a range of common cancer types where NF1 gene alterations arise somatically and consequently abnormally activate RAS-mediated ERK/MAPK signaling during cancer development. His recent work has led to a Department of Defense-sponsored clinical trial for NF1-associated malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors.

Dr. Zhu received academic and research awards, including the Biological Sciences Scholar Program (BSSP) scholar from the University of Michigan, the General Motors Cancer Research Scholar, the Paul Daniel Bogart Leadership Chair of Research from the Brain Tumor Society, the American Cancer Society Research Scholar, and the Gilbert Family Endowed Professorship. He co-chaired the annual Children’s Tumor Foundation’s NF conference in 2014, was elected to a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2019. Recently, Dr. Zhu was selected for the inaugural Outstanding Scientist Award from the George Washington University Cancer Center in 2021, and named a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar in Cancer Research for Established Investigators by the CPRIT in 2023.

Research Interest

Neural stem cell regulation and nervous system tumors
Neurofibromatosis type 1 and tumor suppressor gene (TSG) syndromes
NF1-associated autism
Pediatric and adult brain tumors

Publications

Featured Publications

Treatment during a developmental window prevents NF1-associated optic pathway gliomas by targeting Erk-dependent migrating glial progenitors.: Jecrois ES, Zheng W, Bornhorst M, Li Y, Treisman DM, Muguyo D, Huynh S, Andrew SF, Wang Y, Jiang J, Pierce BR, Mao H, Krause MK, Friend A, Nadal-Nicolas F, Stasheff SF, Li W, Zong H, Packer RJ, Zhu Y, Dev Cell 2021 Aug
Murine models of IDH-wild-type glioblastoma exhibit spatial segregation of tumor initiation and manifestation during evolution.: Li Y, Li B, Li W, Wang Y, Akgül S, Treisman DM, Heist KA, Pierce BR, Hoff B, Ho CY, Ferguson DO, Rehemtulla A, Zheng S, Ross BD, Li JZ, Zhu Y, Nat Commun 2020 Jul 11 1 3669
Sox2⁺ cells in Sonic Hedgehog-subtype medulloblastoma resist p53-mediated cell-cycle arrest response and drive therapy-induced recurrence.: Treisman DM, Li Y, Pierce BR, Li C, Chervenak AP, Tomasek GJ, Lozano G, Zheng X, Kool M, Zhu Y, Neurooncol Adv 2019 1 1 vdz027
Opposing Tumor-Promoting and -Suppressive Functions of Rictor/mTORC2 Signaling in Adult Glioma and Pediatric SHH Medulloblastoma.: Akgül S, Li Y, Zheng S, Kool M, Treisman DM, Li C, Wang Y, Gröbner S, Ikenoue T, Shen Y, Camelo-Piragua S, Tomasek G, Stark S, Guduguntla V, Gusella JF, Guan KL, Pfister SM, Verhaak RGW, Zhu Y, Cell Rep 2018 Jul 24 2 463-478.e5
Transient inhibition of the ERK pathway prevents cerebellar developmental defects and improves long-term motor functions in murine models of neurofibromatosis type 1.: Kim E, Wang Y, Kim SJ, Bornhorst M, Jecrois ES, Anthony TE, Wang C, Li YE, Guan JL, Murphy GG, Zhu Y, Elife 2014 Dec 3
ERK inhibition rescues defects in fate specification of Nf1-deficient neural progenitors and brain abnormalities.: Wang Y, Kim E, Wang X, Novitch BG, Yoshikawa K, Chang LS, Zhu Y, Cell 2012 Aug 150 4 816-30
SAG/RBX2/ROC2 E3 ubiquitin ligase is essential for vascular and neural development by targeting NF1 for degradation.: Tan M, Zhao Y, Kim SJ, Liu M, Jia L, Saunders TL, Zhu Y, Sun Y, Dev Cell 2011 Dec 21 6 1062-76
Expression of mutant p53 proteins implicates a lineage relationship between neural stem cells and malignant astrocytic glioma in a murine model.: Wang Y, Yang J, Zheng H, Tomasek GJ, Zhang P, McKeever PE, Lee EY, Zhu Y, Cancer Cell 2009 Jun 15 6 514-26
Induction of abnormal proliferation by nonmyelinating schwann cells triggers neurofibroma formation.: Zheng H, Chang L, Patel N, Yang J, Lowe L, Burns DK, Zhu Y Cancer Cell 2008 Feb 13 2 117-28
The loss of Nf1 transiently promotes self-renewal but not tumorigenesis by neural crest stem cells.: Joseph NM, Mosher JT, Buchstaller J, Snider P, McKeever PE, Lim M, Conway SJ, Parada LF, Zhu Y, Morrison SJ Cancer Cell 2008 Feb 13 2 129-40

Honors & Awards

CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research for Established Investigator
Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (2024)
Inaugural Outstanding Scientist Award
George Washington University Cancer Center (2021)
Elected Fellow
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2019)
Gilbert Family Endowed Chair in Neurofibromatosis Research
Gilbert Family Neurofibromatosis Institute, Children's National Hospital (2013-2024)
American Cancer Society Research Scholar
American Cancer Society (2006-2009)
Paul Daniel Bogart Leadership Chair of Research
Brain Tumor Society (2006-2007)
General Motors Cancer Research Scholars Program Scholar
General Motors Cancer Research Program (2004-2006)
Biological Sciences Scholars Program (BSSP) Scholar
University of Michigan Medical School (2003)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2014)
American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (1999)
Society for Neuroscience (2005)