Zhenglun Zhu, MD, PhD

Brigham And Women's Hospital

Academic Titles

Assistant Professor, Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Research Program Affiliation

Member, Gastrointestinal Malignancies

Member, Prostate Cancer

Research Abstract

Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is an essential cell fate determination pathway of early embryogenesis. Gain of function mutations of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway have been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of malignancies, such as colorectal cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. Our laboratory utilizes vertebrate embryogenesis model to identify potential methods of regulating Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. Current efforts are focused on the role of a homeobox protein Xom on Wnt/beta-catenin signaling during early embryogenesis and tumorigenesis. Xom is an essential cell fate determination factor, thus, it is expected that our investigation on the role of Xom in cell fate determination during early embryogenesis and tumorigenesis will allow us to identify novel targets of intervention for cancer management.