Zhidong XU, Ph.D.
- Contact Address
- 2340 Sutter Street S-341, Box 0128
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, 941430128 - Contact Phone
- (415) 514-0592
- Contact E-Mail
- zxu@cc.ucsf.edu
- Professional Affiliations
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Program: Thoracic Oncology
- Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Expertise
- Gene Expression Profiling
- Epigentics
- Hypermethylation
- Lung Cancer
- Mesothelioma
- Molecular Therapies
- Monoclonal Antibody Therapy
- Recombinant DNA technology
- WIF-1
- Wnt pathway
- Education
- Shanghai Fisheries University, Shanghai, China, Aquaculture, B.A., 1978 - 1982
- Western Illinois University, Biology/Cytogenetics, M.S., 1984 - 1986
- University of Texas Medical Branch, Molecular Mutagenesis, Ph.D., 1986 - 1992
- Appointments
- Adjunct Assistant Professor of Surgery University of California at San Francisco,
- Website
- Biography/CV (will open new window)
- Biography
Dr. Zhidong Xu is a molecular biologist and senior scientist in the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory. Dr. Xu graduated Shanghai Fisheries University in China in 1982 with an undergraduate degree in marine aquaculture and received a masters in biology/cytogenetics in 1986 from Western Illinois University. In 1992, he received a Ph.D. in Molecular Mutagenesis from the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Xu then became a post-doctoral Fellow at the Human Genome Mapping Center at UCSF, and later in the Cardiovascular Research Institute. In 1998, Dr. Xu was recruited to the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory by Dr. David Jablons.
In 2001, he joined the faculty at the UCSF School of Medicine as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Xu has played an important role in the expansion of the lab. Between 1999-2001.
Dr. Xu's research on full-length cDNA cloning technology was supported by an NIH R21 grant. He is also co-PI on an NIH R01 grant, The Wnt Pathway in Malignant Mesothelioma, research that will elucidate the molecular mechanisms of malignant mesothelioma. Dr. Xu's research is focused on the molecular biology of non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma, including the development of novel targeted therapeutics based on recombinant DNA technology. A summary of his overall research includes:
- Using microarray technology for the identification of novel genes and therapeutic targets.
- Methylation in lung carcinogenesis and as a marker in the detecting early lung cancers.
- Elucidation of novel molecular mechanisms in the Wnt Signaling Pathway.
- Oncolytic viral gene therapy.
- Development of anti-Wnt ligand monoclonal antibodies for lung cancer therapeutics.
- Development of recombinant human proteins targeting Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (WIF-1).
- Differential gene expression profiling.
Dr. Xu has also played a critical role in forging international ties with the medical establishment in China, the goal to improve treatment lung cancer patients worldwide. Dr. Xu also helped draft the Beijing Declaration on Lung Cancer , A Campaign for Treatment, Research and Prevention, after the 2nd North South Lung Cancer Summit in China Beijing on September 24, 2005.Dr. Xu has also authored numerous peer-reviewed papers in his fields of research.
