Lab Members

Di Zhao, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator

Dr. Di Zhao earned her Ph.D. from Fudan University and completed her postdoctoral training under the guidance of Dr. Ronald DePinho. In 2019, she started her independent laboratory at UT MD Anderson. Dr. Zhao’s research focuses on the biology and genetics of prostate cancer. Dr. Zhao has published in many high-profile journals as the first or corresponding author, including Nature, Nature Cancer, Cancer Cell, Cancer Discovery, STM, Nature Communications and Cancer Res. Her laboratory is currently funded by NIH/NCI, CPRIT, PCF, DoD and other agencies.

Dr. Zhao's full publication list

Xin Liang, M.D.
Senior Research Assistant/Lab Manager

Dr. Xin Liang received her M.D. from Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, and her M.S. from Capital Medical University. She joined UT MD Anderson in 2016 and began her current position in the Zhao Lab in 2024. In the Zhao Lab, she manages transgenic animal colonies, performs surgeries and treatment on mice and conducts benchwork. Additionally, Dr. Liang serves as the lab manager and continually expands her expertise to contribute to prostate cancer research and therapy.

Feiyu Chen, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Feiyu Chen received her Ph.D. from the University of Hong Kong, where she investigated epigenetic regulation during hepatocellular carcinoma initiation and metastasis, identifying new potential medicines for cancer therapy (Clinical and Translational Medicine, 2020). Dr. Chen joined the Zhao Lab in 2021 and focuses on identifying metabolic vulnerabilities of an emerging molecular subtype of prostate cancer containing SPOP and CHD1 defects. Dr. Chen reported that CHD1 loss reprograms SREBP2-driven cholesterol synthesis to fuel androgen-responsive growth and castration resistance in prostate tumors with SPOP mutations (Nature Cancer, 2025). Dr. Chen received the 2025 AACR Scholar-in-Training Award.

Feiyu's full publication list

Qianlin Gu, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Qianlin Gu received his M.D. from Jinan University and his Ph.D. from Lanzhou University. His doctoral studies focused on enhancing the efficacy of anti-angiogenesis and immunotherapy combination therapy by targeting SHCBP1 (Molecular Carcinogenesis, 2024; Cancer Science, 2024). In 2024, Dr. Gu joined the Zhao Lab, where his research focuses on characterizing the genetic determinants and immune checkpoints that reshape the metastatic niche of prostate cancer.

Qianlin’s full publication list