Hua Zhao, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Scholar – Research Associate
Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology
Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC

2250 Alcazar St.
CSA 210 – HSC 9062
Los Angeles, CA 90033-9062
Phone: (323) 442-1318
Fax: (323) 442-2981
huazhao@usc.edu

Education
Experience
Publications

Nanchang University, China
M.B., 2014
Medical Laboratory

Kunming Medical University, China
M.S., 2017
Immunology

Xi’an Jiaotong University, China
Ph.D., 2023
Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics

  • 2022 – present – Postdoctoral Scholar – Research Associate – Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
  • 2021 – 2022 – Postdoctoral Researcher – GI Cancer and Pre-cancer Biogenesis and Biomarkers Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University
  • 2019 – 2021 – Medicine trainee – GI Cancer and Pre-cancer Biogenesis and Biomarkers Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University
  • 2015 – 2016 – Lab teaching assistant – Medical Immunology and Medical Microbiology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University
  • 2014 – 2017 – Lab technician – Yunnan Demonstration Base of International Science and Technology Cooperation for Tropical Diseases

  1. Vistoso Monreal A, Zhao H, Sedghizadeh PP, Lin DC. Patient-derived tumor organoids to model drug response in gastric cancer. Cell Reports Medicine. July 16;5(7):101650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101650.

  2. Nam C, Li LY, Yang Q, Ziman B, Zhao H, Hu B, Collet C, Jing P, Lei Q, Xu LY, Li EM, Koeffler HP, Sinha UK, Lin DC. A druggable cascade links methionine metabolism to epigenomic reprogramming in squamous cell carcinoma. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Jun 25;121(26):e2320835121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2320835121. Epub 2024 Jun 20. PMID: 38900797.

  3. Ziman B, Yang Q, Zheng Y, Sheth M, Nam C, Zhao H, Zhang L, Hu B, Bhowmick NA, Sinha UK, Lin DC. Epigenomic analyses identify FOXM1 as a key regulator of anti-tumor immune response in esophageal adenocarcinoma. Cell Death Dis. 2024 Feb 19;15(2):152. PMID: 38373993.

  4. Hua Zhao, Casey Collet, Dongzi Peng, Uttam K. Sinha, De-Chen Lin,
    Investigation of early neoplastic transformation and premalignant biology using genetically engineered organoid models. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, Volume 20, 2022, Pages 5309-5315, ISSN 2001-0370, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2022.09.026.

  5. Zhao H, Wu W, Li X, Chen W. (2022) Long noncoding RNA UCA1 promotes glutamine-driven anaplerosis of bladder cancer by interacting with hnRNP I/L to upregulate GPT2 expression. Transl Oncol. 2022 Jan 10;17:101340. doi:10.1016/j.tranon.2022.101340. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35021150; PMCID:PMC8752948.

  6. Zhao H, Dai X, Han X, Liu A, Bao F, Bai R, Ji Z, Jian M, Ding Z, Abi ME, Chen T, Luo L, Ma M, Tao L. (2019) Borrelia burgdorferi basic membrane protein A initiates proinflammatory chemokine storm in THP 1-derived macrophages via the receptors TLR1 and TLR2. Biomed Pharmacother. 2019 Jul;115:108874. doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2019.108874. Epub 2019 Apr 16. PMID: 31003080.

  7. Zhao Z, Tao L, Liu A, Ma M, Li H, Zhao H, Yang J, Wang S, Jin Y, Shao X, Bao F. (2018) NF‑κB is a key modulator in the signaling pathway of Borrelia burgdorferi BmpA‑induced inflammatory chemokines in murine microglia BV2 cells. Mol Med Rep. 2018 Apr;17(4):4953-4958. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2018.8526. Epub 2018 Jan 31. PMID:29393443; PMCID: PMC5865954.

  8. Zhao H, Liu A, Cui Y, Liang Z, Li B, Bao F. (2017) Borrelia burgdorferi basic membrane protein A could induce chemokine production in murine microglia cell line BV2. Microb Pathog. 2017 Oct;111:174-181. doi:10.1016/j.micpath.2017.08.036. Epub 2017 Sep 1. PMID: 28867633.

  9. Zhao H, Liu A, Shen L, Xu C, Zhu Z, Yang J, Han X, Bao F, Yang W. (2017) Isoforskolin downregulates proinflammatory responses induced by Borrelia burgdorferi basic membrane protein A. Exp Ther Med. 2017 Dec;14(6):5974-5980. doi: 10.3892/etm.2017.5300. Epub 2017 Oct 13. PMID:29285146; PMCID: PMC5740510.

  10. Zhao H, Bao FF, Liu A. (2017) Safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface protein A (OspA) vaccine: A meta-analysis. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2017 Jan 30;11(1):1-9. doi: 10.3855/jidc.7999. PMID: 28141584.

  11. Liu A, Li J, Bao F, Zhu Z, Feng S, Yang J, Wang L, Shi M, Wen X, Zhao H, Voravuthikunchai SP. (2016) Single nucleotide polymorphisms in cytokine MIF gene promoter region are closely associated with human susceptibility to tuberculosis in a southwestern province of China. Infect Genet Evol. 2016 Apr;39:219-224.doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2015.12.003. Epub 2015 Dec 2. PMID: 26656832.