PhD, Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore, 2003 Ph.D., Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore, 2003

Dr. Zhou’s major areas of interest and research expertise are in the experimental therapeutics of metastatic tumors and acquired resistance to molecularly targeted cancer therapies.One of Dr. Zhou’s current research programs concerns the development of novel preclinical approaches to guide the use of targeted therapeutic agents for the treatment of brain metastases. The mission begins with the establishment of an in vivo brain metastasis model that possesses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and is able to replicate the native environment of brain metastases; continues with the characterization of the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) properties of a targeted therapeutic agent in the established in vivo model; and is followed by quantitative evaluation of the relationship between drug distribution in the target tissue and tumor response to the treatment through the measurement of PD biomarkers representing the specific signaling transduction networks in tumor cells and their microenvironment – with each step working towards building a framework to guide the rational design of drug dosing regimens that lead to optimal tumor drug concentrations and maximal antineoplastic effects. Dr. Zhou’s research also extends to the mechanistic study of acquired resistance to targeted therapy in lung cancers using in vivo drug resistant tumor models. The goal is to provide a means to understand the sequence of biologically programmed events leading to the acquired resistance to the targeted therapy in lung cancers and aid in the rational design of combined targeted therapies with durable antitumor effects.