Dr. Zhou currently works directly with Zhen Y. Jiang, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Laboratory of Diabetes and Obesity Research, on understanding how insulin signaling networks and innate immunity regulate metabolic functions.

During her research career, Qiong L. Zhou, Ph.D., has contributed significantly to collaborative projects with renowned scientists. In a collaborative study with Dr. Craig Mello’s laboratory while at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, she established microRNA profiles of three sets of samples from: 1. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, adipocytes and adipocytes treated with insulin; 2. human muscle tissues from non exercised or exercised individuals; and 3. human monocytes before and after lipid perfusion by using deep sequencing technique. She is continuing to analyze these profiles to identify the major microRNAs that target the components of insulin signaling pathways and key molecules involved in diabetes and obesity. She was also part of the team that identified a new Akt substrate, TBC1D1, a RabGAP containing protein. These results were published in a paper suggesting that TBC1D1 regulates GLUT1 expression through the mTOR pathway in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (Zhou et al, Biochem J. 2008). While at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Qiong has worked on a project dissecting the role of neutrophil elastase in the development of high-fat diet induced obesity and related inflammation, insulin resistance and energy imbalance with different mouse models. This also resulted in a recent publication (Aubert et al, Cell Metabolism 2013).