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
Chenling Meng, Qianlin Gu, Yin Wang, Haoyan Li, Wei Shi, Xin Liang, Anna DeBruine, Javier Leo, Feiyu Chen, Jie Zhang, Kiersten Maldonado, Vivien Van, Yue Lu, Di Zhao. Dysregulated ASH1L-MUC1-CD133 Axis Promotes Lung Metastasis and Reprograms the Metastatic Niche in SPOP-deficient Prostate Cancer. Oncogene. e-Pub 2026.
Wei Shi, Ping Xu, Qianlin Gu, Zhen Fan, Xin Liang, Yin Wang, Yuehui Zhao, Chenling Meng, Javier Leo, Justin J. Kim, Hongqi Teng, Jie Zhang, Feiyu Chen, Yang Chen, Nicholas E. Navin, Di Zhao. Dual Functions of B7-H3-MAPK Signaling Orchestrate Tumor Immunosuppression via Regulating the Plasticity of Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells and Fibroblasts. Cancer Discov, 2026. e-Pub 2026.
Javier Leo, Feiyu Chen, Wei Shi, Xin Liang, Chenling Meng, Qianlin Gu,, Yaman Albittar, Zhen Fan, Jie Zhang, Boyi Gan, Sangeeta Goswami, Kendra S. Carmon, Daniel E. Frigo, Ana Aparicio, Di Zhao. Enhancing the efficacy of B7-H3-targeting antibody-drug conjugate DS-7300a in TP53-deficient tumors by inducing ferroptosis. Oncogene, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42509416.
Feiyu Chen, Qidong Li, Qianlin Gu, Javier Leo, Xin Liang, Naayaa Mehta, Estefania Labanca, Peter Shepherd, Iqbal Mahmud, Yin Wang, Francisco R. Saenz, Maya M. Phillips, Wei Shi, Chenling Meng, Jie Zhang, Daniel E. Frigo, Yue Lu, Boyi Gan, Di Zhao. Divergent roles of SPOP and CHD1 in ACSL4 regulation reveal context-dependent vulnerabilities for targeting ferroptosis. Nat Commun, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42380152.
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
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Research Areas
Find out about the four types of research taking place at UT MD Anderson.