Education

2015 – 2017. Visiting PhD student, Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, USA

2014 – 2019. PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing University, China

2011 – 2014. MS, Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing University, China

2007 – 2011. BS, Life Sciences and Technology, Yangtze Normal University, China

Professional experience

2023.10 – now. Associate Investigator, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, CAS, China

2021.08 – 2023.10. Assistant Investigator/Associate Investigator, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, CAS, China

2019.07 – 2021.07. Postdoctoral Associate, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, CAS, China

Research focus

We focus on the role of phagocytosis in neural injury and diseases such as spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease, aiming to discover treatment approaches for related diseases. Our recent studies demonstrate blood-brain barrier (BBB) cellular constituents are novel phagocytes in pathophysiology of central nervous system (CNS), which is beyond to their known roles in BBB function. This work was recommended by F1000 as a new discovery and drug target. Relevant findings have been published in journals such as Nature Neuroscience, Nature Communications and Nanomaterials as the first author or corresponding author.

Honors/Awards

Recipient of National Postdoctoral Innovative Talent Plan, China 2019-2021.

Honorable Mention of Best Dissertation Thesis, Society of Biomedical Engineering, China 2020.

Chongqing Outstanding Graduate Dissertation Thesis, Chongqing 2020

Shenzhen High-Level Talent Program, Shenzhen 2021

The Great Bay Area Center for Brain Research High-Level Talent Program, 2023

Selected publications

1. T. Zhou*, Y. Zheng*^#, L. Sun, S.R. Badea, Y. Jin, Y. Liu, A. Rolfe, H. Sun, X. Wang, Z. Cheng, Z. Huang, N. Zhao, X. Sun, J. Li, J. Fan, C. Lee, T. L. Megraw, W. Wu, G. Wang^#, Y. Ren^#. Microvascular endothelial cells engulf myelin debris and promote macrophage recruitment and fibrosis after neural injury. Nature Neuroscience. 2019. 22(3):421-435. (*co-first authors, ^# co-corresponding authors)

- Recommended by Faculty of 1000

- Highlighted in Nature Immunology

- Reported by ScienceDaily

2. Tian Zhou, Yuxin Li, Xiaoyu Li, Fanzhuo Zeng, Yanxia Rao, Yang He, Yafei Wang, Meizhen Liu, Dali Li, Zhen Xu, Xin Zhou, Siling Du, Fugui Niu, Jiyun Peng, Xifan Mei, Sheng-Jian Ji, Yousheng Shu, Wei Lu, Feifan Guo, Tianzhun Wu, Ti-Fei Yuan, Ying Mao and Bo Peng. Microglial debris is cleared by astrocytes via C4b-facilitated phagocytosis and degraded via RUBICON-dependent noncanonical autophagy in mice. Nature Communications. 2022, 13(1):6233.

3. Qi Zeng^#, Shoujun Yu, Zihui Fan, Yubin Huang, Bing Song^# and Tian Zhou^#. Nanocone-Array-Based Platinum-Iridium Oxide Neural Micro-electrodes: Structure, Electrochemistry, Durability and Bio-compatibility Study. Nanomaterials. 2022, 12(19):3445. (^#co-corresponding authors)

4. Gang Zhong^*, Huiping Long^*, Tian Zhou, Yisi Liu, Jianping Zhao, Jinyu Han, Xiaohu Yang, Yin Yu, Fei Chen, Shengliang Shi. Blood-brain barrier Permeable nanoparticles for Alzheimer's disease treatment by selective mitophagy of microglia. Biomaterials. 2022 Sep;288:121690. (*co-first authors)

5. Yanxia Rao, Siling Du, Baozhi Yang, Yuqing Wang, Yuxin Li, Ruofan Li, Tian Zhou, Xiangjuan Du, Yang He, Yafei Wang, Xin Zhou, Ti-Fei Yuan, Ying Mao, Bo Peng. NeuroD1 induces microglial apoptosis and cannot induce microglia-to-neuron cross-lineage reprogramming. Neuron. 2021; 109(24):4094-4108.e5.

6. Z. Xu, Y. Rao, Y. Huang, T. Zhou, R. Feng, S. Xiong, T. Yuan, S. Qin, Y. Lu, X. Zhou, X. Li, B. Qin, Y. Mao, B. Peng. Efficient Strategies for Microglia Replacement in the Central Nervous System. Cell Reports. 2020;32(6):108041