Dr. Xiaohui Zhou holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from Washington State University in 2008. He is Professor at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China. Prior to joining SUSTech, he was as a tenured professor in the Department of Pathobiology at the University of Connecticut. Research in his laboratory is primarily focused the pathogenesis and resistance mechanisms of intestinal pathogenic microorganisms and the development of new antibacterial drugs. He has published over 80 peer reviewed scientific papers in international journals including those in PNAS, Nature Comm, Biomaterials and EMBO J. His research was funded by multiple NIH R01 grants with a total funding of over 4 million US dollars. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Microbiological Research. He has been invited to serve as a reviewer for multiple European grant agencies including France National Research Agency (ANR) and Poland National Science Center. Dr. Zhou was awarded Changjiang Scholars Chair Professorship in 2023 by the Ministry of Education, China.

Research directions:

1、Molecular mechanisms of Host-Pathogen interactions and microbial pathogenesis

2、Development of vaccines for infectious diseases

3、Antibiotic resistance and development of new antimicrobials

Work Experience:

2022 – Present: Southern University of Science and Technology, Professor

2013 – 2022: University of Connecticut, Department of Pathobiology: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Tenured Professor, Principal Investigator (PI)

2010 – 2013: Harvard Medical School / Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Research Associate

2008 – 2010: Washington State University, Postdoctoral Researcher

Selected Publications:

1、Zhang Y, Xiao G, Ding H, Gu D, Guo R, Qiyao Wang, Zhou X*. Direct sensing of host ferric iron by an archetype histidine kinase mediates virulence of an enteric pathogen. PNAS, 2025, 122 (23), e2507874122

2、Zheng C, Zhai Y, Qiu J, Wang M, Xu Z, Chen X, Zhou X*, Jiao X. ZntA maintains zinc and cadmium homeostasis and promotes oxidative stress resistance and virulence in Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Gut Microbes. 2024;16(1):2327377

3、Wang Z, An Z, Richel A, Huang M, Gou X, Xu D, Zhang M, Mo H, Hu L, Zhou X*. Ferrous sulfate remodels the properties of sodium alginate-based hydrogel and facilitates the healing of wound infection caused by MRSA. Carbohydr Polym. 2024, 15;346:122554.

4、Huang M, Wang Z, Yao L, Zhang L, Gou X, Mo H, Li H, Hu L, Zhou X*. Ferric chloride induces ferroptosis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and heals wound infection in a mouse modelInt. J Antimicrob Agents. 2023; 61(5):106794.

5、Wang Z, Li H, Zhou W, Lee J, Liu Z, An Z, Xu D, Mo H, Hu L, and Zhou X*. Ferrous sulfate-loaded hydrogel cures Staphylococcus aureus infection via facilitating a ferroptosis-like bacterial cell death in a mouse keratitis model. Biomaterials. 2022; 290:121842

6、Hu M, Zhang Y, Gu D, Chen X, Waldor MK and Zhou X*. Nucleolar c-Myc recruitment by a Vibrio T3SS effector promotes host cell proliferation and bacterial virulence. The EMBO J. 2021, e105699

7、Lin IT, Tumun E, Geary SJ, Zhou X*. A gatekeeper protein contributes to T3SS2 function via interaction with an ATPase in Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Microbiol Res. 2021, 24: 126857

8、Gu D, Zhang Y, Wang and Zhou X*. S-nitrosylation mediated activation of a histidine kinase represses T3SS1 gene expression and promotes virulence of an enteric pathogen. Nat. Commun. 2020, 11:5777

9、Hu M, Zhang H, Gu D, Ma Y and Zhou X*. Identification of the first tail tubular proteins receptor that mediates phage adsorption to a marine pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Emerging Microbes & Infections. 2020. 9:855-867

10、Li L, Wang, Zhang H, Kahn K and Zhou X*. A sensor histidine kinase is a beta-lactam receptor and induces resistance to beta-lactam. PNAS. 2016,113 (6):1648-1653. (Highlighted by Nature Review Microbiology: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro.2016.27)