小蓝俱乐部

Nan Zhu, Ph.D. is an associate professor at 小蓝俱乐部 in the synthetic biology group. Prior to joining 小蓝俱乐部she was an Investigator at Versiti Blood Reach Institute in the Stem Cell and Hematopoiesis Program and held a joint appointment as an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy (CBNA).

At Versiti, her laboratory studied the epigenetic regulation of stem cells and how dysregulation of these pathways contributes to the development of leukemia. Epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in maintaining tissue-specific gene expression patterns and are essential for normal development processes. In leukemia, cancer cells often harbor multiple genetic mutations that cause them to divide in an uncontrolled manner, leading to tumor formation and growth. Mutations in epigenetic regulators are frequently found in leukemia, highlighting their importance in malignancy.

At JCVI, Dr. Zhu鈥檚 research will build upon this body of work. Her lab will be focused on understanding the epigenetic regulation of normal and malignant hematopoiesis (the process by which the body makes blood cells), especially as it relates to Acute Myeloid Leukemia, the most aggressive form of the disease.

Dr. Zhu earned a BS in biochemistry from Nanjing University in China and a Ph.D. in biology from Boston University. Her post-graduate training includes research fellowships at Brigham and Women鈥檚 Hospital and Children鈥檚 Hospital Boston (both teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School).

Research Priorities

Develop targeted therapeutics against the histone demethylase JMJD1C for AML
  • Examine the requirement of JMJD1C in human AML
  • Small molecular drug screen against JMJD1C to develop AML targeted therapy
  • Molecular mechanism of JMJD1C function in AML
SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes in normal and malignant hematopoiesis
  • Role of SWI/SNF in hematopoietic stem cell function
  • Targeting SWI/SNF subcomplexes in AML
  • SWI/SNF in AML anti-tumor immunity

Publications

Blood. 2023-04-06; 141.14: 1653-1655.
Silencing with SAFB: a new role for HOXA9 in AML
Deshpande AJ, Zhu N
PMID: 37022737
Frontiers in cell and developmental biology. 2022-05-26; 10.917125.
The Role of DOT1L in Normal and Malignant Hematopoiesis
Arnold O, Barbosa K, Deshpande AJ, Zhu N
PMID: 35712672
Leukemia. 2022-04-01; 36.4: 946-955.
Differential roles of BAF and PBAF subunits, Arid1b and Arid2, in MLL-AF9 leukemogenesis
Bluemn T, Schmitz J, Zheng Y, Burns R, Zheng S, DeJong J, Christiansen L, Arnold O, Izaguirre-Carbonell J, Wang D, Deshpande AJ, Zhu N
PMID: 35022500
Scientific reports. 2021-03-31; 11.1: 7288.
DOT1L inhibitors block abnormal self-renewal induced by cohesin loss
Heimbruch KE, Fisher JB, Stelloh CT, Phillips E, Reimer MH, Wargolet AJ, Meyer AE, Pulakanti K, Viny AD, Loppnow JJ, Levine RL, Pulikkan JA, Zhu N, Rao S
PMID: 33790356
Experimental hematology. 2021-02-01; 94.37-46.
Arid2 regulates hematopoietic stem cell differentiation in normal hematopoiesis
Bluemn T, Schmitz J, Chen Y, Zheng Y, Zhang Y, Zheng S, Burns R, DeJong J, Christiansen L, Izaguirre-Carbonell J, Wang D, Zhu N
PMID: 33346030
Experimental hematology. 2020-05-11; 85.57-69.
Epigenetic regulation of protein translation in KMT2A-rearranged AML
Lenard A, Xie HM, Pastuer T, Shank T, Libbrecht C, Kingsley M, Riedel SS, Yuan ZF, Zhu N, Neff T, Bernt KM
PMID: 32437908
Nature communications. 2019-09-27; 10.1: 4415.
CXCR5+PD-1+ follicular helper CD8 T cells control B cell tolerance
Chen Y, Yu M, Zheng Y, Fu G, Xin G, Zhu W, Luo L, Burns R, Li QZ, Dent AL, Zhu N, Cui W, Malherbe L, Wen R, Wang D
PMID: 31562329
Blood advances. 2019-05-14; 3.9: 1499-1511.
Critical role of Jumonji domain of JMJD1C in MLL-rearranged leukemia
Izaguirre-Carbonell J, Christiansen L, Burns R, Schmitz J, Li C, Mokry RL, Bluemn T, Zheng Y, Shen J, Carlson KS, Rao S, Wang D, Zhu N
PMID: 31076406
The Journal of clinical investigation. 2016-03-01; 126.3: 997-1011.
MLL-AF9- and HOXA9-mediated acute myeloid leukemia stem cell self-renewal requires JMJD1C
Zhu N, Chen M, Eng R, DeJong J, Sinha AU, Rahnamay NF, Koche R, Al-Shahrour F, Minehart JC, Chen CW, Deshpande AJ, Xu H, Chu SH, Ebert BL, Roeder RG, Armstrong SA
PMID: 26878175
Cancer cell. 2011-07-12; 20.1: 66-78.
MLL-rearranged leukemia is dependent on aberrant H3K79 methylation by DOT1L
Bernt KM, Zhu N, Sinha AU, Vempati S, Faber J, Krivtsov AV, Feng Z, Punt N, Daigle A, Bullinger L, Pollock RM, Richon VM, Kung AL, Armstrong SA
PMID: 21741597

Research Priorities

Develop targeted therapeutics against the histone demethylase JMJD1C for AML
  • Examine the requirement of JMJD1C in human AML
  • Small molecular drug screen against JMJD1C to develop AML targeted therapy
  • Molecular mechanism of JMJD1C function in AML
SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes in normal and malignant hematopoiesis
  • Role of SWI/SNF in hematopoietic stem cell function
  • Targeting SWI/SNF subcomplexes in AML
  • SWI/SNF in AML anti-tumor immunity
01-May-2024

Tae Seok Moon, Ph.D. and Nan Zhu, Ph.D. join 小蓝俱乐部 faculty

小蓝俱乐部continues to actively recruit faculty to expand core research areas, including human health and synthetic biology