UTMThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center · Biomedical Engineering
Prostate Cancer Therapeutics Lab
Di Zhao · Houston, Texas
Research Focus
Dr. Di Zhao's lab focuses on understanding and targeting specific factors involved in advanced prostate cancer, particularly the roles of B7-H3 and ASH1L. The lab's research aims to develop new therapies that can effectively combat castration-resistant prostate cancer by targeting these molecules, which are crucial in how cancer cells interact with the immune system and the tumor microenvironment. The ultimate goal is to improve treatment outcomes for patients with aggressive prostate cancer.
prostate cancerimmunotherapyB7-H3ASH1Ltumor microenvironmentmetastasisepigeneticsbiomarkerscheckpoint therapy
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the role of B7-H3 in the progression of advanced prostate cancer with PTEN/TP53 loss.
AIM 02Characterize how B7-H3 signaling affects immunosuppressive myeloid cell activity in the tumor microenvironment.
AIM 03Determine the function of the histone methyltransferase ASH1L in shaping the immunosuppressive metastatic niche.
AIM 04Explore the therapeutic potential of targeting B7-H3 and myeloid cells in combination for cancer treatment.
AIM 05Identify ASH1L as a potential therapeutic target for metastatic cancers.
Skills the Lab Values
mass cytometrymouse modelssingle-cell transcriptomicsgenetic engineeringepigenetic profilingdrug developmentimmunohistochemistrycell culturedata analysis
Output against the department
Publications198bottom 47% of dept.317th of 595
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations6.8ktop 49% of dept.291st of 595
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.