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Publications
168
Citations h-index
23,500+ 56
Patents & Commercialization
11

Selected Publications

Reviews & BooksTools and Reagents
(160+ publications with >23,000 total citations) See the full list of publications at Google Scholar or PubMed
Research Articles (selected from 100+ papers)
Reviews and Books (out of 60+ papers)
Repurposing salicylic acid as a versatile inducer of proximity Nature Chemical Biology 2025. Accepted RNA-mediated condensation of TFE3 oncofusions facilitates transcriptional hub formation to promote translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC) Nature Communications 2025 (in revision) Engineering of photo-inducible binary interaction tools for biomedical applications Nature Communications 2025 (in revision) Perturbation of TET2 condensation promotes aberrant genome-wide DNA methylation and curtails leukaemia cell growth. Nature Cell Biology 2024. Online TET2 modulates spatial relocalization of heterochromatin in aged hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Nature Aging 2023. Online (News & Views) Engineering of NEMO as calcium indicators with large dynamics and high sensitivity. Nature Methods 2023. Tools available here Optogenetic engineering of STING signaling allows remote immunomodulation to enhance cancer immunotherapy.Nature Communications 2023. Open access Light activated macromolecular phase separation modulates transcription by reconfiguring chromatin interactions. Science Advances 2023. Open access The Disordered N-terminal Domain of DNMT3A is Required for Postnatal Development. Nature Genetics 2022. Identification of a STIM1 splicing variant that promotes glioblastoma growth. Advanced Science. 2022 (cover story) Optical control of protein delivery and partitioning in the nucleolus. Nucleic Acids Research. 2022. Open access Nano-optogenetic engineering of CAR T-cells for precision immunotherapy with enhanced safety. Nature Nanotechnology 2021 Open access Circularly permuted LOV2 as a modular domain for optogenetic engineering. Nature Chemical Biology 2021. Open access Engineering of a bona fide light-operated calcium channel. Nature Communications 2021. Open access (Technology licensed) Expression of chimeric antigen receptor therapy targets detected by single-cell sequencing of normal cells contributes to off-tumor toxicity. Cancer Cell 2021 Optogenetic control of non-apoptotic cell death. Advanced Science 2021 (cover story) Open access Caffeine-operated synthetic modules for chemogenetic control of protein activities by life style. Advanced Science 2021 (cover story). Open access (Technology licensed) Optogenetic engineering to probe the molecular choreography of STIM1-mediated cell signaling. Nature Communications 2020. Open access Calcium sensing by the STIM1 ER-luminal domain. Nature Communications 2018 Calcium oscillations coordinate feather mesenchymal cell movement by SHH dependent modulation of gap junction networks. Nature Communications 2018 Targeted DNA methylation in vivo using an engineered dCas9-MQ1 fusion protein. Nature Communications 2017 The LINK-A lncRNA interacts with PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 to hyperactivate AKT and confer resistance to AKT inhibitors. Nature Cell Biology 2017 Optogenetic Control of Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels. Angewandte Chemie Internatonal Edition Engl. 2018 (cover article) Engineered Split-TET2 Enzyme for Inducible Epigenetic Remodeling. JACS 2017. Open access. (JACS Spoltlight article) Optical control of membrane tethering and interorganellar communication at nanoscales. Chemical Science. 2017 (cover story) Mutations in 5-methylcytosine oxidase TET2 and RHOA cooperatively disrupt T cell homeostasis. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2017 The LINK-A lncRNA activates normoixc HIF1α signaling in triple-negative breast cancer. Nature Cell Biology 2016 Proteomic mapping of ER-PM junctions identifies STIMATE as a novel regulator of calcium influx. Nature Cell Biology 2015. Open access (highlighted N&V) Inside-out calcium signaling prompted by STIM1 conformational swtich. Nature Communications 2015. Open access Near-infrared photoactivatable control of Ca2+ signaling and optogenetic immunomodulation. eLife 2015. Open access STIM1 triggers a gating rearrangement at the extracellular mouth of the ORAI1 channel. Nature Communications 2014. Initial activation of STIM1, the regulator of store-operated calcium entry. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 2013. Open access STIM1 gates the store-operated calcium channel ORAI1 in vitro. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 2010. Open access Pore architecture of the ORAI1 store-operated calcium channel. PNAS 2010. Open access
Interrogating physiological functions with light and chemicals. Annual Review of Physiology 2025 (under review) Optogenetic engineering for precision immunotherapy. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 2025 (accepted) Optogenetic engineering of ion channels with tailored function. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology 2025. Access here Remote control of cellular immunotherapy. Nature Reviews Bioengineering 2023. Open access A PASS for protein secretion.Nature Chemical Biology 2023. Open access Optophysiology: illuminating cell physiology with optogenetics. Physiological Reviews 2022 (cover article). Access here Optogenetics for transcriptional programming and genetic engineering. Trends in Genetics 2022 (cover article). Access here Targeting epigenetic regulatory machinery to overcome cancer therapy resistance. Seminars in Cancer Biology 2022 (cover article). Access here Opsin-free optogenetics: technology and applications Book Co-Editor; CRC Press. 2022. Amazon link Intelligent cell-based therapies for cancer and autoimmune disorders. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 2020. Access here Optogenetic approaches to control calcium-modulated physiological processes. Current Opinion in Physiology 2020. Free access Optogenetic immunomodulation: shedding light to anti-tumor immunity. Trends in Biotechnology 2017. Open access
Reagents are distributed through Addgene, Kerafast, and Applied Biological Materials.
Contact : Zhou Lab / Texas A&M IBT/CTCR 2121 W Holcombe Blvd Houston, TX 77030
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