Team
Xu Zhou, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Xu Zhou is a Principal Investigator in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Xu is also an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Xu grew up in Beijing, China. He earned a B.S. from Peking University and then obtained a Ph.D. with Dr. Erin O’Shea in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University, studying systems biology and transcriptional regulation. He then completed his postdoctoral training with Dr. Ruslan Medzhitov in the Department of Immunobiology at Yale University School of Medicine, investigating the mechanisms of tissue homeostasis and inflammation, with a focus on macrophages and fibroblasts. Since 2021, the Zhou Lab is interested in understanding how immune cells communicate with their neighbors and surrounding environment to control tissue homeostasis and inflammation. Outside the lab, Xu enjoys outdoor activities, board games and playing fantasy football.
Zhongyang Wu, Ph.D.
Postdoc fellow
Zhongyang is an authentic Hakka. He grew up in Jiangxi Province, China and earned his B.S. from Nanchang University. He then pursued his Ph.D. at Tsinghua University, studying epigenetic mechanism in mammalian histone. Zhongyang joined the Zhou lab since September 2021. He is studying how immune cells interact with stromal cells. Outside of science, he enjoys calligraphy, cooking and playing badminton.
Yu Hong, Ph.D.
Postdoc fellow
Yu grew up in Zhejiang, China and completed his B.S. from Jilin University. He later pursued a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing (NIBS), studying CRISPR based genome engineering and tumor immunology. Yu joined the Zhou Lab in August 2023. Taking advantages of the CRISPR based genome-wide screening, Yu is exploring molecules involved in interactions between immune cells and stromal cells. Outside of science, he enjoys playing chess, traveling and spending time with family.
Cathleen Krabak
Graduate Student
Email: ckrabak@fas.harvard.edu
Cathleen is a first year PhD student in the Immunology Program at Harvard Medical School. She grew up in Buffalo, New York, and earned a B.S. in Biology from Davidson College. At Davidson, Cathleen studied how crosstalk between gut microbiota and the adaptive immune system directs T cell homeostasis. Currently, she is investigating how immune cells respond to microbiome-driven perturbations in environmental pH. Outside the lab, Cathleen enjoys painting, skiing, spending time with friends, and trying new coffee shops around Boston.
Jiarui Che
Research Intern
Email: 20jc107@queensu.ca
Jiarui is a third year studying health sciences at Queen's University in Canada. Jiarui was born in Lanzhou, China and grew up in Canada. Jiarui joined the lab in the summer of 2024. He's excited to learn more about immune cell regulation and function. Outside the lab, Jiarui enjoys going for walks, finding new trails and parks, and binging YouTube.
Stephanie Hajjar, Ph.D.
Postdoc fellow
Stephanie was born in Ottawa, Canada and grew up in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2014, She moved back to Canada and completed her B.Sc. in Biomedical Sciences with Honours at University of Ottawa. She later pursued a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at U Ottawa, studying immune regulation in a murine model of IBD. After joining the Zhou lab in September of 2022, Stephanie has been exploring how environmental sensing impacts immune cell regulation, tissue homeostasis and inflammation. Outside of research, She enjoy family gatherings, walks in nature, exploring new cuisines and swimming!
Diya Anand
Research Assistant
Diya Anand grew up in Andover, Massachusetts. She graduated with a B.S. in Biology, on the pre-med track from the University of New Hampshire. Diya joined the Zhou Lab in June of 2021 and is looking forward to learning and continuing her newfound interest in research. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family, traveling, baking and exploring new cuisines!
Diana Leung, M.S.
Computation specialist
Diana is a Research fellow joining the Zhou lab in the summer of 2022 through New Science ( joint with Ordovas-montanes lab). She grew up in central Jersey, went to Rutgers University to get a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, and recently graduated with an M.S. in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics from Yale University. She is particularly intrigued by questions in complex adaptive systems and evo-devo. Since September 2022, Diana has continued her work to explore emergent properties associated with complex systems. Outside of research, she enjoys traveling, reading walls of text, and mundane conversations about figuring things out.
Zhe Zhong
Graduate Student
Email: zhe_zhong@g.harvard.edu
Zhe is a PhD student in the Harvard BBS program. He comes from Peking University with a Biological Science BS and a second major in Psychology. After graduation he joined Aaron Ring's lab at Yale University as a postgraduate associate, working on cytokine engineering and cancer immunotherapy. He joined the Zhou Lab in the summer of 2024, and he is interested in understanding the behavior of immune cells when they are in complicated cellular and environmental contexts. Outside of research, Zhe enjoys music, board games, watching reality TV shows, and playing frisbee!
Ingrid Cobbinah
Research Intern
Ingrid is a student at Northeastern University and she joined the lab in summer of 2023!
Jennavieve Zilic
Undergraduate Student
Email: jzilic@bu.edu
Jennavieve (Jenna) is a sophomore student in Boston Univeristy and she joined the lab in 2023!
Former lab members
Tyler Chen
Research Intern
Email: tyler.chen.0350@gmail.com
Tyler joined the Zhou Lab in summer of 2022 through Harvard Immunology Summer Research program. He is originally from Naperville, IL, and is currently studying mathematics at Dartmouth College as a member of the class of 2024. Tyler's summer research has developed partial differential equation (PDE) based cell circuit models to incorporate spatial and temporal behaviors of cells in understanding cell-cell communication in tissue homeostasis. Tyler developed Tyler is excited to dive deeper into the intersection of immunology with other fields. Outside of research and academics, he also enjoys competitive sudoku, traveling, and watching Survivor & The Amazing Race.
Nathan Raikman
Research Intern
Email: nraikm@gmail.com
Nathan grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts and is planning to major in neuroscience as an incoming freshman at Emory University. Interning at the Zhou Lab during the summer of 2022, he is excited to learn more about immune cell regulation and discover how 3D printing can be useful in investigating cell-cell interactions. Outside the lab, Nathan enjoys digital design, biking, and volunteering for youth-run nonprofits.
Milan Aori
Research Intern
Email: mmlc.gm@gmail.com
Milan joined the Zhou lab as a research intern in the summer of 2022. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree major in Kinesiology and a double major in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, on the Pre-Med track. Milan is looking forward to more learning and exploration in the field of immunology. Outside of academics and research, she also enjoys art creation, reading, and deep thinking.
Sybren Bouwman, M.S.
Visiting graduate student
Sybren grew up and started his studies in Leiden, The Netherlands where he obtained Bachelor degree in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences at Leiden University. He started Masters degree also in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences, when he discovered a passion for exploring data and statistics related questions in the bio-medical field. This led Sybren to pursuing a second MA degree in Data Science. He is very interested in applying novel data science methods to problems in the bio-medical field. Outside of research he enjoy playing guitar, sailing, hiking and recently started to play tennis!
Jessica Tseng
Email: jt101@wellesley.edu
Jessica is a junior majoring in biochemistry and minoring in psychology at Wellesley College. She will be joining Zhou’s Lab in the fall of 2022. She is interested in learning about the mechanisms behind immunology and how that can lead to possible future applications. Outside of the lab, Jessica enjoys making digital illustrations, cooking, and organizing cultural events.
Qiuyu Yue
Visiting graduate student
Qiuyu was born in China and earned his B.S. at Sichuan University. Then he moved to Peking University for a PhD in Cell Biology. He joined the Zhou Lab in the spring of 2023. Now he is studying how macrophages detect changes in cell microenvironments using biochemical and genetic approaches. Outside the lab, Qiuyu enjoys traveling and playing squash.
Eddie Padilla
Rotation student
Email: epadilla@g.harvard.edu
Eddie T. Padilla is a first year PhD student in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program at Harvard Medical School. He was born in Turlock, California and earned a B.S in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. During his time at UCLA, he studied neuronal development in Drosophila and then studied the role of type 1 dendritic cells in liver injury and obesity models and conducted computational analysis to understand the interactome of NK cells in cancer. Eddie is currently working on understanding the chromatin organization and epigenetic features of NK cells and DCs in homeostasis and inflammation. Outside the lab, he enjoys watching TV shows, painting, listening to music, hanging out with his friends, and photography.
Davis Garner
Rotation student
Email: davisgarner@g.harvard.edu
Davis is a first year PhD student in Harvard's Immunology Program. He grew up in Los Angeles and got his B.S. in Molecular Biology at BYU. Before coming to Harvard, he was a postbaccalaureate fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease studying the roles of chemokine receptors in SARS-CoV2 and IAV infection. He is currently testing a new way to capture 3D chromatin interactions at high-resolution in order to explore how the tissue microenvironment directly regulates gene expression. His overall research interests include genomics and epigenomics, as well as understanding structural and mechanistic aspects of immunology and their implications for drug discovery. Outside the lab, Davis enjoys all things bikes: riding, racing, fixing and building. He also enjoys birdwatching, although he probably spends more time watching the English Premier League than watching birds now.
Marija Jankovic
Visiting graduate student
Marija is a Medical Biotechnology master student from Vienna. She grew up in Austria and earned her bachelor’s degree in food science and biotechnology. In addition to pursuing a master degree, her particular interest in Medicine led her to a co-inscription at the Medical University of Vienna. She is working on her master thesis project to study the molecular mechanisms of immune activation and inflammation. Outside the lab, she loves traveling, learning a new language, painting, and spending time with her beloved ones.
Affiliated members
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Bin Bao, Ph.D.
Postdoc fellow
Bin is a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Scott Snapper's lab in the GI Division at Boston Children's Hospital. Bin is also a core scientist directing FACS core at the Harvard Digestive Diseases Center (HDDC). Bin received his Ph.D. from the School of Life Science at Sun Yat-sen University. He has a strong interest in development, metabolism, microbiome, and mucosal immunology. He is currently investigating how gut microbial product modulates mucosal immune cells, aiming to find a new therapeutic method for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) patients. Working with Bin, the lab is exploring the roles of pH sensing in intestinal homeostasis and inflammation. Outside of lab, Bin likes reading and playing chess games.