Youli Zu, MD, PhD

Professor of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Academic Institute
Full Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College


Research Lab


yzu@houstonmethodist.org
Biography

After obtaining his MD and PhD, Dr. Zu attended the University of Connecticut Health Center as a postdoctoral fellow and later remained there as an assistant professor. He then spent four years in pathology residency training at New York University, followed by a two-year hematopathology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Zu joined the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital in 2004, where he currently serves as the Medical Director of the Hematopathology Section. He is also a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Zu is also the Director of the Cancer Pathology research laboratory at the Houston Methodist Research Institute. These combined positions enable him to address clinically driven questions. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Zu has pioneered the translation of oligonucleotide aptamers and nanotechnology into clinical applications, and his research is currently funded by multiple NIH and CPRIT grants.

Description of Research

Dr. Zu's clinical interests include diagnosis of hematopoietic and lymphoid disorders. His research centers on the development of novel diagnostics and treatments for these disorders. His laboratory was the first to use aptamer probes to enhance the diagnostic capabilities of multi-color flow cytometry and immunohistochemical staining for rapid detection of circulating tumor cells in whole-blood samples. By combining nanotechnology with aptamer technology, Dr. Zu's laboratory is developing new multi-functional nanomedicines for tumor-specific imaging and targeted therapy of several cancer types, including lymphomas, multiple myeloma, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, and hepatocellular (liver) carcinoma. Other areas of interest in his laboratory include the role of cancer stem cells in the development of multiple myeloma and the molecular mechanisms underlying myelodysplastic syndrome.

Areas Of Expertise

Aptamer technology
Education & Training

Clinical Fellowship, National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Residency, New York University Medical Center
Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Connecticut Health Center
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Tsukuba Life Science Research Center, RIKEN
PhD, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine
MD, Jilin Medical College
Publications

LILRB3 Modulates Acute Myeloid Leukemia Progression and Acts as an Effective Target for CAR T-cell Therapy
Mai, S, Hodges, A, Chen, HM, Zhang, J, Wang, YL, Liu, Y, Nakatsu, F, Wang, X, Fang, J, Xu, Y, Davidov, V, Kang, K, Pingali, SR, Ganguly, S, Suzuki, M, Konopleva, M, Prinzing, B, Zu, Y, Gottschalk, S, Lu, Y, Chen, SH & Pan, PY 2023, , Cancer research, vol. 83, no. 24, pp. 4047-4062. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-22-2483

Cell-free DNA 5-hydroxymethylcytosine is highly sensitive for MRD assessment in acute myeloid leukemia
Shao, J, Shah, S, Ganguly, S, Zu, Y, He, C & Li, Z 2023, , Clinical Epigenetics, vol. 15, no. 1, 134. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13148-023-01547-0

Classification of Acute Myeloid Leukemia by Cell-Free DNA 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine
Shao, J, Shah, S, Ganguly, S, Zu, Y, He, C & Li, Z 2023, , Genes, vol. 14, no. 6, 1180. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14061180

EBV-positive DLBCL frequently harbors somatic mutations associated with clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential
Li, Y, Xu-Monette, ZY, Abramson, J, Sohani, AR, Bhagat, G, Tzankov, A, Visco, C, Zhang, S, Dybkaer, K, Pan, Z, Xu, M, Tam, W, Zu, Y, Hsi, ED, Hagemeister, FB, Go, H, van Krieken, JH, Winter, JN, Ponzoni, M, Ferreri, AJM, Møller, MB, Piris, MA, Wang, Y, Zhang, M & Young, KH 2023, , Blood Advances, vol. 7, no. 7, pp. 1308-1311. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2022008550

Tumor-Infiltrating Normal B Cells Revealed by Immunoglobulin Repertoire Clonotype Analysis Are Highly Prognostic and Crucial for Antitumor Immune Responses in DLBCL
Xu-Monette, ZY, Li, Y, Snyder, T, Yu, T, Lu, T, Tzankov, A, Visco, C, Bhagat, G, Qian, W, Dybkaer, K, Chiu, A, Tam, W, Zu, Y, Hsi, ED, Hagemeister, FB, Wang, Y, Go, H, Ponzoni, M, Ferreri, AJM, Møller, MB, Parsons, BM, Fan, X, van Krieken, JH, Piris, MA, Winter, JN, Au, Q, Kirsch, I, Zhang, M, Shaughnessy, J, Xu, B & Young, KH 2023, , Clinical Cancer Research, vol. 29, no. 23, pp. 4808-4821. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-1554

Cell-free DNA 5-hydroxymethylcytosine is an emerging marker of acute myeloid leukemia
Shao, J, Wang, S, West-Szymanski, D, Karpus, J, Shah, S, Ganguly, S, Smith, J, Zu, Y, He, C & Li, Z 2022, , Scientific Reports, vol. 12, no. 1, 12410, pp. 12410. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16685-3

MYCN-driven fatty acid uptake is a metabolic vulnerability in neuroblastoma
Tao, L, Mohammad, MA, Milazzo, G, Moreno-Smith, M, Patel, TD, Zorman, B, Badachhape, A, Hernandez, BE, Wolf, AB, Zeng, Z, Foster, JH, Aloisi, S, Sumazin, P, Zu, Y, Hicks, J, Ghaghada, KB, Putluri, N, Perini, G, Coarfa, C & Barbieri, E 2022, , Nature Communications, vol. 13, no. 1, 3728, pp. 3728. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31331-2

A novel role of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) in human myeloma resistance to proteasome inhibitors
Su, P, Xiao, L, Ye, L, Wang, Z, Xiong, W, Wang, Q, Ma, X, Xian, M, Yang, M, Zu, Y, Pingali, SR, Qian, J & Yi, Q 2022, , Journal of Hematology and Oncology, vol. 15, no. 1, 55, pp. 55. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-022-01269-5

Aptamer–Gemcitabine Conjugates with Enzymatically Cleavable Linker for Targeted Delivery and Intracellular Drug Release in Cancer Cells
Qi, J, Zeng, Z, Chen, Z, Nipper, C, Liu, X, Wan, Q, Chen, J, Tung, CH & Zu, Y 2022, , Pharmaceuticals, vol. 15, no. 5, 558. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph15050558

Aptamer Targets Triple-Negative Breast Cancer through Specific Binding to Surface CD49c
Wan, Q, Zeng, Z, Qi, J, Zhao, Y, Liu, X, Chen, Z, Zhou, H & Zu, Y 2022, , Cancers, vol. 14, no. 6, 1570. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14061570

Genetic Subtyping and Phenotypic Characterization of the Immune Microenvironment and MYC/BCL2 Double Expression Reveal Heterogeneity in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma
Xu-Monette, ZY, Wei, L, Fang, X, Au, Q, Nunns, H, Nagy, M, Tzankov, A, Zhu, F, Visco, C, Bhagat, G, Dybkaer, K, Chiu, A, Tam, W, Zu, Y, Hsi, ED, Hagemeister, FB, Sun, X, Han, X, Go, H, Ponzoni, M, Ferreri, AJM, Møller, MB, Parsons, BM, van Krieken, JH, Piris, MA, Winter, JN, Li, Y, Xu, B, Albitar, M, You, H & Young, KH 2022, , Clinical Cancer Research, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 972-983. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-2949

Determining clinical course of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma using targeted transcriptome and machine learning algorithms
Albitar, M, Zhang, H, Goy, A, Xu-Monette, ZY, Bhagat, G, Visco, C, Tzankov, A, Fang, X, Zhu, F, Dybkaer, K, Chiu, A, Tam, W, Zu, Y, Hsi, ED, Hagemeister, FB, Huh, J, Ponzoni, M, Ferreri, AJM, Møller, MB, Parsons, BM, van Krieken, JH, Piris, MA, Winter, JN, Li, Y, Xu, B & Young, KH 2022, , Blood Cancer Journal, vol. 12, no. 2, 25, pp. 25. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41408-022-00617-5

Next-Generation Sequencing Revealed a Distinct Immunoglobulin Repertoire with Specific Mutation Hotspots in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Xia, M, Wu, L, Sun, X, Han, X, Yan, H, Huang, J, Zhang, Y, Hu, Z, Zu, Y, Yin, CC & Qiu, X 2022, , Biology, vol. 11, no. 2, 161. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11020161

RAR? activation sensitizes human myeloma cells to carfilzomib treatment through the OAS-RNase L innate immune pathway
Wang, Q, Lin, Z, Wang, Z, Ye, L, Xian, M, Xiao, L, Su, P, Bi, E, Huang, YH, Qian, J, Liu, L, Ma, X, Yang, M, Xiong, W, Zu, Y, Pingali, SR, Xu, B & Yi, Q 2022, , Blood, vol. 139, no. 1, pp. 59-72. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2020009856

Aptamer-armed nanostructures improve the chemotherapy outcome of triple-negative breast cancer
Wan, Q, Zeng, Z, Qi, J, Chen, Z, Liu, X & Zu, Y 2022, , Molecular Therapy, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 2242-2256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymthe.2022.02.004

Poor Humoral Response in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients Following Complete mRNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination
Cao, J, Liu, X, Muthukumar, A, Gagan, J, Jones, P & Zu, Y 2022, , Clinical Chemistry, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 251-253. https://doi.org/10.1093/clinchem/hvab149

RAR? activation sensitizes human myeloma cells to carfilzomib treatment through the OAS-RNase L innate immune pathway
Wang, Q, Lin, Z, Wang, Z, Ye, L, Xian, M, Xiao, L, Su, P, Bi, E, Huang, YH, Qian, J, Liu, L, Ma, X, Yang, M, Xiong, W, Zu, Y, Pingali, SR, Xu, B & Yi, Q 2022, , Blood, vol. 139, no. 1, pp. 59-72. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2020009856, https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2020009856

Aptamers with self-loading drug payload and ph-controlled drug release for targeted chemotherapy
Zeng, Z, Qi, J, Wan, Q & Zu, Y 2021, , Pharmaceutics, vol. 13, no. 8, 1221. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13081221

EpCAM-Targeting Aptamer Radiotracer for Tumor-Specific PET Imaging
Li, F, Zeng, Z, Hamilton, D, Zu, Y & Li, Z 2021, , Bioconjugate chemistry, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 1139-1145. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.1c00188

Author Correction: ALK phosphorylates SMAD4 on tyrosine to disable TGF-ß tumour suppressor functions
Zhang, Q, Xiao, M, Gu, S, Xu, Y, Liu, T, Li, H, Yu, Y, Qin, L, Zhu, Y, Chen, F, Wang, Y, Ding, C, Wu, H, Ji, H, Chen, Z, Zu, Y, Malkoski, S, Li, Y, Liang, T, Ji, J, Qin, J, Xu, P, Zhao, B, Shen, L, Lin, X & Feng, XH 2021, , Nature Cell Biology, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 293. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-021-00638-5