2013
National Innovative Research Award Grant
American Heart Association

2013
NIH R21
National Institutes of Health
Award for the research of brain tumor biology

2011
NIH R01
National Institutes of Health
Award for the research of molecular mechanisms to promote axon regeneration

2011
Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Award

2010
Young Clinician Investigator Award for Young Faculty
NREF (Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation) of the AANS (American Association of Neurological Surgeons)

2010
Transcriptional regulation of the intrinsic axon growth capacity during development
Whitehall Foundation
Grant supporting research for basic neuroscience

2010
Dr. Harold and Golden Lamport Research Award
The award is given to tenure-track assistant professors who show exceptional potential for making significant contributions.

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

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

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, 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.

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, Lu QC, Durack JC, Chao C, Strasberg HR, Zhang Y, Tsai M, Melmon K, Hahn JS. Structured data management--the design and implementation of a web-based video archive prototype. Proceedings / AMIA ... Annual Symposium. AMIA Symposium 2001;.

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

Parikh P, Hao Y, Hosseinkhani M, Patil SB, Huntley GW, Tessier-Lavigne M, Zou H. Regeneration of axons in injured spinal cord by activation of bone morphogenetic protein/Smad1 signaling pathway in adult neurons. PNAS 2011 Apr;.

Pricola KL, Zou H, Chang SD. Successful repair of a gunshot wound to the head with retained bullet in the torcular herophili. World Neurosurgery; 76(3-4).

Mascitelli J, De Los Reyes K, Steinberger J, Zou H. Lack of functionality and need for revision of an Ommaya reservoir placed into a cavum septum pellucidum. Journal of Neurosurgery 2013 Mar; 118(3).

Finelli MJ, Murphy KJ, Chen L, Zou H. Differential phosphorylation of Smad1 integrates BMP and neurotrophin pathways through Erk/Dusp in axon development. Cell Reports 2013 May; 3(5).

Finelli MJ, Wong JK, Zou H. Epigenetic regulation of sensory axon regeneration after spinal cord injury. The Journal of neuroscience 2013 Dec; 33(50).

O'Donovan KJ, Ma K, Guo H, Wang C, Sun F, Han SB, Kim H, Wong JK, Charron J, Zou H, Son YJ, He Z, Zhong J. B-RAF kinase drives developmental axon growth and promotes axon regeneration in the injured mature CNS. The Journal of Experimental Medicine 2014 May; 211(5).

Zhong J, Zou H. BMP signaling in axon regeneration. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 2014 Aug; 27.

Wong JK, Zou H. Reshaping the chromatin landscape after spinal cord injury. Frontiers in Biology 2014 Oct; 9(5).

Wong JK, Chen L, Huang Y, Sehba FA, Friedel RH, Zou H. Attenuation of Cerebral Ischemic Injury in Smad1 Deficient Mice. PloS One 2015; 10(8).

Zou H, Feng R, Huang Y, Tripodi J, Najfeld V, Tsankova NM, Jahanshahi M, Olson LE, Soriano P, Friedel RH. Double minute amplification of mutant PDGF receptor α in a mouse glioma model. Nature Scientific Reports 2015; 5.

Le AP, Huang Y, Pingle SC, Kesari S, Wang H, Yong RL, Zou H, Friedel RH. Plexin-B2 promotes invasive growth of malignant glioma. Oncotarget 2015 Mar; 6(9).

Daviaud N, Chen K, Huang Y, Friedel RH, Zou H. Impaired cortical neurogenesis in Plexin-B1 and -B2 double deletion mutant. Developmental Neurobiology 2015 Nov;.