Zu Lab

Youli Zu, MD, PhD
Professor of Pathology and Genomic Medicine
Houston Methodist Academic Institute

Dr. Zu's research 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 abilities of multi-color flow cytometry and immunohistochemical staining, and for rapid detection of circulating tumor cells in whole blood samples. By combining nanotechnology with aptamer technology, Dr. Zu's laboratory is also developing new multi-functional nanomedicine for specific tumor imaging and targeted therapy of several cancer types, including lymphomas, multiple myeloma, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and hepatocellular (liver) carcinoma. Other projects in his laboratory include studies on the role of cancer stem cells in the development of multiple myeloma and elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the myelodysplastic syndrome.