The Zhu Lab investigates the molecular and metabolic mechanisms that govern macrophage function in health and diseases. As central players in innate immunity, macrophages respond dynamically to environmental signals—shifting between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory states that profoundly influence disease outcomes. Our research seeks to define the regulatory networks that control macrophage polarization, NLRP3 inflammasome activation, autophagy, and efferocytosis, with a special emphasis on how systemic and cellular metabolism fine-tune these immune responses.
By exploring these mechanisms, we aim to advance fundamental understanding of macrophage biology and identify novel therapeutic targets for a wide spectrum of inflammatory and metabolic diseases, including sepsis, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
To achieve our research goals, we utilize a highly interdisciplinary and systems-based approach that combines:
- Molecular biology and immunology
- Cell biology and mitochondrial bioenergetics
- Omics technologies (including transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics)
- Bioenergetics
- Transgenic and conditional knockout mouse models
- In vitro systems using both primary cells and established cell lines from mouse and human origins
We invite you to explore our lab’s research.