Specialty	Neurological Surgery
Clinical Interests	Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
	Brain Tumors
	Skull Based Surgery
	Meningioma
	Herniated Disc
	Degenerative Spinal Disorders
	Radiosurgery
Languages	English
	Chinese (Mandarin)
Gender	Female
E-mail	hongyan.zou@mountsinai.org
Education and Training	MD, Stanford University Hospital
	PhD, Cornell University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute
	Internship, General Surgery, Stanford University Hospital
	Residency, Neurosurgery, Stanford University Hospital
Awards	2007 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Resident Award
	2006 NRSA/NINDS Postdoctoral Fellowship
	2000 Baxter Foundation Grant
	1996 Frank Lappin Horsfall Jr. Fellowship
	1996 Julian R. Rachele Prize

Dr. Zou focuses her clinical practice in minimally-invasive and complex spine, brain and spine tumors and general neurosurgery.  Her laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms of axonal growth and neurogenesis.  Her research will support the development of molecular treatments for neuronal and axonal regeneration.

Please visit Dr. Hongyan Zou's Laboratory of Axon Growth and Neuronal Regeneration for more information.

Education and Training	MD, Stanford University Hospital
	PhD, Cornell University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute
	Internship, General Surgery, Stanford University Hospital
	Residency, Neurosurgery, Stanford University Hospital

Specialty	Neurological Surgery
Clinical Interests	Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
	Brain Tumors
	Skull Based Surgery
	Meningioma
	Herniated Disc
	Degenerative Spinal Disorders
	Radiosurgery
Languages	English
	Chinese (Mandarin)

Research
Specific Research Interests:  
-Molecular mechanisms of axonal growth;
-Transcription factors regulating axonal regeneration;
-Neural stem cell proliferation, differentiation and implication in CNS tumorigenesis.

Our lab is interested in understanding how neurons are born, how they extend axons, and how they regenerate or fail to regenerate after injury. Brain and spinal cord injuries account for billions of dollars each year in medical costs. Understanding classic and identifying novel signaling pathways that promote neurogenesis and axonogenesis will provide new molecular targets towards effective CNS regeneration. Similar mechanisms that regulate the neural stem cell (NSC) niche also regulate tumor stem cells (TSCs). Developing strategies to shrink the TSC pool by inhibiting proliferation, inducing apoptosis or promoting differentiation will have great impact on treating primary brain tumor, which is one of the leading causes of death in children and young adults.

Zou H, Ho C, Wong K, Tessier-Lavigne M. Axotomy-induced Smad1 Activation Promotes Axonal Growth in Adult Sensory Neurons. Journal of Neuroscience 2009; 29(22): 7116-7123.

Varley JE, McPherson CE, Zou H, Niswander L, Maxwell GD. Expression of a constitutively active type I BMP receptor using a retroviral vector promotes the development of adrenergic cells in neural crest cultures. Developmental Biology 1998 Apr 1; 196(1): 107-118.

Zou H, Wieser R, Massague J, Niswander L. Distinct roles of type I bone morphogenetic protein receptors in the formation and differentiation of cartilage. Genes & Development 1997 Sep 1; 11(17): 2191-2203.

Zou H, Choe KM, Lu Y, Massague J, Niswander L. BMP signaling and vertebrate limb development. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology 1997; 62: 269-272.

Zou H, Niswander L. Requirement for BMP signaling in interdigital apoptosis and scale formation. Science 1996 May 3; 272: 738-741.