Zhong Lab

Assistant Professor in the Department of Immunology

The Zhong lab seeks to define the core molecular principles that govern how inflammation is initiated, sustained, and resolved – and why common risk factors such as obesity and aging can shift these programs toward chronic, disease-driving immune states. Using approaches that range from CRISPR-based screening and biochemistry to imaging and single-cell “omics,” together with genetic animal models of disease, the Zhong lab has helped refine how the field conceptualizes the links between metabolic stress, immune reprogramming, and pathology (Science 2026; Immunity 2023). Dr. Zhong has also made foundational contributions to establishing mitochondria as a central signaling hub for innate immunity, anchoring mitochondrial pathways as key organizers of inflammasome-driven inflammation (Nature 2018; Cell 2016; Nat Immunol 2017; Nat Commun 2013). From a translational perspective, the Zhong lab aims to convert mechanistic insight into therapeutic logic by identifying tractable control points and biomarkers that can guide the design of interventions to restore balanced immune states and halt disease progression. Extending beyond immunometabolism, the Zhong lab investigates tumor immunology, innate immune–based cancer therapies, and neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative disease, using inflammation biology as a unifying lens across cancer, metabolic tissues, and the nervous system.