Zhao Laboratory
Di Zhao, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
- Departments, Labs and Institutes
- Labs
- Di Zhao Laboratory
Areas of Research
- Prostate Cancer
- Genetics
- Tumor Microenvironment
- Immunotherapy
- Mouse Model Development
Over the past decade, large-scale cancer genome studies have uncovered emerging genetic alterations in malignancies. The Zhao Laboratory in the Experimental Radiation Oncology department focuses on prostate cancer biology and genetics, with a special interest in understanding crosstalk between cancer cells and immune components in the tumor microenvironment and metastatic niche.
Recent Publications
Chen F, Li H, Wang Y, Tang X, Lin K, Li Q, Meng C, Shi W, Leo J, Liang X, Zhang J, Van V, Mahmud I, Wei B, Lorenzi P, Raso M, Aparicio A, Lu Y, Frigo D, Gan B, Zhao D*. CHD1 loss reprograms SREBP2-driven cholesterol synthesis to fuel androgen-responsive growth and castration resistance in SPOP-mutated prostate tumors. Nature Cancer. 2025 May 13. doi: 10.1038/s43018-025-00952-z. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40360905.
Meng C, Lin K, Shi W, Teng H, DeBruine A, Wang Y, Chen F, Leo J, Zhang J, Van V, Maldonado K, Gan B, Ma L, Lu Y*, Zhao D*. Histone Methyltransferase ASH1L Primes Metastases and Metabolic Reprogramming of Macrophages in the Bone Niche. Nature Communications. 2025 May 20. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59381-2. PMID: 40394007.
Shi W, Wang Y, Zhao Y, Kim JJ, Li H, Meng C, Chen F, Zhang J, Mak DH, Van V, Leo J, St Croix B, Aparicio A, Zhao D*. Immune Checkpoint B7-H3 is a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer Harboring PTEN and TP53 Deficiencies. Science Translational Medicine. 2023 May 10; 15(695): eadf6724. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adf6724. PMID: 37163614.
Li H, Wang Y, Lin K, Venkadakrishnan V, Bakht M, Shi W, Meng C, Zhang J, Tremble K, Liang X, Song J, Feng X, Van V, Deng P, Burks J, Aparicio A, Keyomarsi K, Chen J, Lu Y, Beltran H, Zhao D*. CHD1 promotes sensitivity to Aurora kinase inhibitors by suppressing interaction of AURKA with its coactivator TPX2. Cancer Research. 2022. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-22-0631. PMID: 35771632.
Our Funding
National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01 CA278889
NCI R01 CA275990
Department of Defense IDA PC230358
Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award
CPRIT Recruitment Award RR190021
Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) CA226360
Contact Us
Di Zhao, Ph.D.
Phone: 713-745-5214
Email: DZhao2@MDAnderson.org