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Education
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 Diplom , University of Tuebingen, Germany, 10/1995
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Ph.D. , Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), 8/2000
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Postdoctoral Training
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Post-doc, Harvard University, 2001-2003
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Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History
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Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University, 1/1/2001-8/31/2003
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Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California at Los Angeles, 9/1/2000-12/1/2000
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Description of Research
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Summary Statement of Research Interests
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Computational biologist Xianghong Zhou works to develop new computational techniques designed to reveal how genes work together in a cell and address other key questions in genomics and molecular biology. Trained in biology, computer science and bioinformatics, her interests include studying the structure, function and evolution of regulatory systems in the cell. She uses data integration techniques to predict gene and protein function, and is developing novel ways to analyze DNA microarray data and protein interaction data. She is also interested in using computational tools to study the evolution of the immune system. Working with existing data from yeast, mice and human skin cells, Zhou is interested in a class of genes that encode transcription factors -- proteins that bind to DNA molecules and thereby turn on and off other genes. Because they control gene expression, they play a critical role in the regulation of development and many other cell processes. Zhou plans to study interactions among the transcription factors, including transcription cascades, in which one factor might turn on two other genes, which in turn begin the transcription of more genes and so on. Her goal is to discover the relationships between the different transcription factors at different levels of the cascade, noting that these relationships quickly get complex. That's where bioinformatics comes in—to do these studies, she will need to analyze large data sets. Microarray technology can monitor the expression of tens of thousands of genes in just one experimental run. The overall aim of Zhou's research is to create new kinds of computer software that will help geneticists and molecular biologists make new discoveries about basics of life and medicine.
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Affiliations with Research Centers, Labs, and Other Institutions
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Center for Compuational and Experimental Genomics,http://www.cmb.usc.edu/
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Honors and Awards
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NSF CAREER Award, 2008-
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Sloan Research Fellowship, 2006-2008
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