Biographical Info

Research Areas

The Zhou laboratory is interested in the mechanisms mediating cell-cell communication and their roles in normal development, physiology, and diseases. Specifically the Zhou laboratory is investigating the functions of a large family of tyrosine kinase receptors, the Ephs, and their ligands, the ephrins, in neural circuit formation, eye development, and behavior regulations including motor activity, circadian rhythm, and aggression. The Zhou laboratory employs both in vitro and in vivo techniques, including neuron cultures, transgenic and knockout mice, as well as behavior assays.

Research Highlights

Demonstration of a repulsive function of ephrins in axon guidance

Discovering signal transduction pathways mediating ephrin-induced growth cone guidance

Establishing a novel cataract mouse model

Elucidating regulation of cell-cell adhesion by ephrins

Scholarly Activities

Member of editorial board: Neuroscience Bulletin; Cell & Bioscience

Membership in: AAAS, Society of Neuroscice, ARVO

Recent Publications

1. Chen, Z, Zeng, L, Cai, W, Song, X, Xu, Q, Xu, J, Zhao, L, Zeng, Y, Zhang, X, Wu, X et al.. Predictive value of three nutritional indexes for disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Ann Med. 2025;57 (1):2443256. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2024.2443256. PubMed PMID:39705015
2. Yu, X, Wang, X, Xu, F, Zhang, X, Wang, M, Zhou, R, Sun, Z, Pan, X, Feng, L, Zhang, W et al.. Mir-615-3p promotes osteosarcoma progression via the SESN2/AMPK/mTOR pathway. Cancer Cell Int. 2024;24 (1):411. doi: 10.1186/s12935-024-03604-x. PubMed PMID:39702297
3. Dang, L, Wei, S, Zhao, Y, Zhou, R, Shang, S, Gao, F, Wang, J, Wang, J, Qu, Q. Effects of Probucol on plasma amyloid-β transport in patients with hyperlipidemia: a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lipids Health Dis. 2024;23 (1):410. doi: 10.1186/s12944-024-02398-1. PubMed PMID:39702132
4. Zhong, Z, Wu, Z, Zhou, R, Yu, X, Zhou, Y, Zhai, Y, Lin, H, Jiang, F. Ribo-seq and RNA-seq analyses enrich the regulatory network of tomato fruit cracking. BMC Plant Biol. 2024;24 (1):1214. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-05937-1. PubMed PMID:39701980
5. Zhou, R, Zhang, J, Long, J, Li, L, Ye, Q, Xu, X, Wang, F. Cobalt phosphide nanoarrays on a borate-modified nickel foam substrate as an efficient dual-electrocatalyst for overall water splitting. J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024;683 (Pt 1):509-520. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.12.046. PubMed PMID:39700560
6. Zheng, J, Zhou, R, Wang, B, He, C, Bai, S, Yan, H, Yu, J, Li, H, Peng, B, Gao, Z et al.. Electrochemical detection of extracellular vesicles for early diagnosis: a focus on disease biomarker analysis. Extracell Vesicles Circ Nucl Acids. 2024;5 (2):165-179. doi: 10.20517/evcna.2023.72. PubMed PMID:39698540 PubMed Central PMC11648401
7. Chen, Y, Sun, Z, Zhang, Y, Zhou, R, Lin, X, Du, Y, Xu, J, Xu, Q, Zang, J. The associations of dietary manganese, iron, copper, zinc, selenium and magnesium with cognitive outcomes in Chinese adults: a cross sectional study in Shanghai. Front Nutr. 2024;11 :1424614. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1424614. PubMed PMID:39698242 PubMed Central PMC11652161