Myeloid malignancies are mainly caused by different genetic and epigenetic changes in hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells. However, dynamic interactions between hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and the microenvironment they reside, also dictate the initiation and progression of diseases. The alteration of microenvironment during clonal evolution remains to be determined. Our group are trying to understand how the pre-leukemic cells remodel their microenvironment, and on the contrary, the effects of altered microenvironment on HSCs, pre-leukemic cells and leukemic cells at different stages of disease progression. Knowledge garnered from these studies will provide experimental framework for correcting the microenvironment to postpone or suppress the occurrence and progression of myeloid malignancies.

PhD, Pharmacology, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China, 2000-2005

B.S., Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China, 1996-2000

Professor of Pharmacology, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 2015-

Associate Professor, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 2008-2015

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Surgery & Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK, 2009-2011

Assistant Professor, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 2005-2007

Postdoctoral Fellow, Unite Mixte bioMerieux/HCL, Lyon, France, 2005-2006

PRINCIPAL HONORS, AWARDS:

2005    Fellowship Award from Region Rhone-Alpes Bourse d'accueil, France

2009    Fellowship Award, China Fellows Programme, Cancer Research UK

MAJOR NATIONAL LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, SOCIETIES AND BOARDS:

2020-Present    Deputy Director, the First Professional Committee on Bone Marrow Failure Diseases, Tianjin Association of Anti-Aging

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

1. Ming Yao, Xiao Jiang, Fangnan Xiao, Xue Lv, Mengyao Sheng, Wen Xing, Jie Bai*, Yuan Zhou*. Targeting BIRC5 as a therapeutic approach to overcome ASXL1-associated decitabine resistance. Cancer Lett. 2024 Jul 1:593:216949

2. Zizhen Chen, Junzhe Song, Wenjun Wang, Jiaojiao Bai, Yuhui Zhang, Jun Shi, Jie Bai, Yuan Zhou*. A novel 4-mRNA signature predicts the overall survival in acute myeloid leukemia. Am J Hematol. 2021 Aug 2. doi: 10.1002/ajh.26309.

3. Jiaojiao Bai, Zizhen Chen, Chao Chen, Mingying Zhang, Yuhui Zhang, Junzhe Song, Jiajia Yuan, Xiao Jiang, Wen Xing, Jing Yang, Jie Bai, Yuan Zhou*. Reducing hyperactivated BAP1 attenuates mutant ASXL1-driven myeloid malignancies in human haematopoietic cells. Cancer Lett. 2021 Oct 28; 519:78-90.

4. Ying Guo#, Yuan Zhou#, Shohei Yamatomo, Hui Yang, Peng Zhang, Shi Chen, Stephen D. Nimer, Zhizhuang Joe Zhao, MingjiangXu, Jie Bai*, Feng-Chun Yang*. ASXL1 alteration cooperates with JAK2V617F to accelerate myelofibrosis. Leukemia 2019 May; 33(5): 1287-1291

5. Rong Li#, Yuan Zhou#, Zeng Cao#, Lin Liu, Jinhuan Wang, Zizhen Chen, Wen Xing,Shi Chen,Jie Bai, Weiping Yuan, Tao Cheng, Mingjiang Xu, Feng-Chun Yang* Zhigang Zhao* TET2 Loss Dysregulates the Behavior of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal Cells and Accelerates Tet2-/-Driven Myeloid Malignancy Progression. Stem cell reports 2018 Jan;10 (1): 166-179

6. Peng Zhang#*, Zizhen Chen#, Rong Li#, Ying Guo, Hui Shi, Jie Bai, Hui Yang, Mengyao Sheng, Zhaomin Li, Zhuo Li, Jianping Li, Shi Chen, Weiping Yuan, Tao Cheng, Mingjiang Xu, Yuan Zhou* & Feng-Chun Yang*. Loss of ASXL1 in the bone marrow niche dysregulates hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell fates. Cell Discovery 2018 Jan 23;4:4

7. Yuan Zhou#, Yongzheng He#, Wen Xing, Peng Zhang, Hui Shi, Shi Chen, Jun Shi, Jie Bai, Steven Rhodes, Fengkui Zhang, Jin Yuan, Xianlin Yang, Xiaofan Zhu, Yan Li, Helmut Hanenberg, Mingjiang Xu, KentRobertson, Weiping Yuan, GrzegorzNalepa, Tao Cheng, D. vade Clapp, Feng-Chun Yang. Abnormal bone marrow microenvironment contributes to hematopoietic dysfunction in fanconi anemia. Haematologica 2017 Jun; 102(6): 1017-1027

8. Yuan Zhou#, Yunhui Hu#, Ming Yang, Parmjit Jat, Kaiyong Li, Ylenia Lombardo, Dongsheng Xiong, Charles Coombes, Selina Raguz, Ernesto Yagüe. The miR-106b~25 cluster promotes bypass of doxorubicin-induced senescence and increase in motility and invasion by targeting the E-cadherin transcriptional activatior EP300. Cell Death & Differentiation. 2014 Mar;21(3):462-74