Dr. Zhou received a Ph. D. from Purdue University and postdoctoral training at Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University. She joined the Division of Innate Immunity at UMass Chan Medical School as a tenure-track assistant professor in July 2025.

Research Information: The long-term research goals of the Zhou lab are to dissect, at the cellular and molecular level, how GI tract homeostasis is achieved, how dysregulation of these pathways impacts health, disease, and longevity, and how we can harness approaches to reinstate homeostasis, treat diseases, and lengthen healthy longevity of life. By utilizing multiple transcriptomic sequencing techniques, mouse genetic models, pre-clinical disease models, and translational human samples, the laboratory broadly interrogates three key research themes with a focus on gut antigen-presenting cells: (i) How does the immune system sense gut microbiota to initiate immune tolerance in the gut? (ii) What are the key molecular regulators of the immune responses that enforce immune tolerance to the microbiota and restrain inflammation in the gut? (iii) How do key immune pathways in the gut contribute to health, disease, and aging over the lifespan?

Please email Wenqing. Zhou@umassmed.edu if you are interested in rotations.

Please send your CV and a Cover letter to Wenqing.Zhou@umassmed.edu if you are interested in the lab