Dr. Zhao received his bachelor's degree in microbiology from Fudan University and his Ph.D. in microbiology from SUNY at Buffalo. Then, he did postdoctoral research at Cold Spring Harbor Lab and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He was a tenured faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before moving to KUMC.
My research interest is understanding how protein arginine methylation by PRMT1 regulates megakaryopoiesis and thrombopoiesis at molecular levels. Dysregulated megakaryocytes and their platelet progenies by PRMT1 play critical roles in hematological malignancies, including leukemia and pre-leukemia diseases such as myeloid proliferative neoplasm and myelodysplasia syndrome (MDS), as well as in cardiovascular diseases and cancers. 1. To understand PRMT1-mediated molecular pathways in generating immune megakaryocytes and their pathogenic platelet progenies and regulating their functions. 2. To understand pathogenic platelets in creating a tumor-friendly microenvironment.
Protein Arginine Methylation in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotypic Modulation and Calcification