The Zhou Lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School combines protein engineering, chemical biology, live–cell imaging, and large-scale functional screening to interrogate—and rewire—how cells perceive and respond to signals. We create biological degraders and synthetic receptors, ligands, and enzymes to understand cellular communication and uncover new ways to treat disease.
Targeted membrane protein degradation: We develop bispecific antibody degraders that reprogram membrane protein trafficking to eliminate oncogenic and immune receptors.
Technology for cell-specific drug delivery: We engineer context-specific biomolecules that deliver therapeutic payloads precisely to cancer cells.
Technology to understand cancer metastasis: We build biosensors and recorders to interrogate tumor metastasis mechanisms.
Immune rewiring: We engineer synthetic pathways in immune cells to control their anti-tumor activity.
Cancer rewiring: We design programmable protein systems that redirect oncogenic pathways toward therapeutic outcomes.
