The Biomedical Sciences Deptartment has engaged, experienced faculty. “The Faculty Spotlight” highlights those who teach our classes and work with students.
Dr. Qiongqiong (Angela) Zhou is a new faculty member in the BMS department. Before teaching here, she travelled all over the US for her schooling. Dr. Zhou went to University of Southern California in Los Angeles for graduate school, and Baltimore and Boston for her postdoctoral training. Outside of work, she likes to play guitar, piano, sing karaoke and dance salsa.
Education
- PhD (2006) University of Southern California
- B.S. (2002) Fudan University, China
Teaching
- Cell Biology of Cancer
- Signal Transduction
- Molecular Cell Biology Lab
- Biomolecular Interactions Lab
- Molecular Biology Lab
Research and professional interests
She is interested in studying how cytoskeleton networks coordinate to achieve the dramatic shape change during cytokinesis, which is a process that a mother cell divides into two daughter cells.
Microtubules are a type of cytoskeleton. During mitosis and cytokinesis, microtubules provide numerous functions, including capturing and separating the chromosome and delivering the cues that coordinate cell shape changes. During her postdoc training in lab, she found 14-3-3 as a novel cytokinesis related gene was able to facilitate cytokinesis by stabilizing microtubules and regulates the cell cortical tension. In her current lab, she is interested in discovering the more unique roles of 14-3-3 in the regulation of cytokinesis.
Dr. Zhou is also interested in characterizing some novel cytokinesis related genes which were discovered by REMI (Restriction Enzyme Mediated Insertion) screens in her previous research lab.
Awards and Honors
- American Heart Association research fellowship award, 2008-2010
- DSM Young Investigator Award, Oxygen Club of California’s 2004 World Congress
- Summer Research Fellowship, University of Southern California, 2003