My laboratory studies the biology of brain tumors with the goal of developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of malignant brain tumors and translating that research into clinical trials. Currently we are studying a variety of different protein pathways that we hypothesize to be important players in glioblastoma formation and growth.
In addition we are studying novel fluorescent probes to improve surgical resection of tumor and to predict antibody delivery across the blood brain barrier.
Featured Publication
Factors for Differential Outcome Across Cancers in Clinical Molecule-Targeted Fluorescence Imaging
Zhou Q, van den Berg NS, Kang W, Pei J, Nishio N, van Keulen S, Engelen MA, Lee YJ, Hom M, Vega Leonel JCM, Hart Z, Vogel H, Cayrol R, Martin BA, Roesner M, Shields G, Lui N, Hayden Gephart M, Raymundo RC, Yi G, Granucci M, Grant GA, Li G, Rosenthal EL. J Nucl Med. 2022 Nov;63(11):1693-1700. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.121.263674.
The clinical imaging performance of a fluorescent antibody in three different cancers was compared to understand the physical and biological factors affecting the translation of biomarker expression into macroscopic tumor contrast.
EGFR-targeted intraoperative fluorescence imaging detects high-grade glioma with panitumumab-IRDye800 in a phase 1 clinical trial
Zhou Q, van den Berg NS, Rosenthal EL, Iv M, Zhang M, Leonel JC, Walters S, Nishio N, Granucci M, Raymundo R, Yi G, Vogel H, Cayrol R, Lee Y, Lu G, Hom M, Kang W, Hayden Gephart M, Recht L, Nagpal S, Thomas R, Patel C, Grant GA, Li G. EGFR-targeted intraoperative fluorescence imaging detects high-grade glioma with panitumumab-IRDye800 in a phase 1 clinical trial. Theranostics 11 (15), 7130-1743 (2021). PMID: 34158840. DOI: 10.7150/thno.60582
Near-infrared (NIR) labeled EGFR antibody, panitumumab-IRDye800, is systemically infused in high-grade glioma patients and specifically binds to tumor cells across the blood-brain barrier to improve intraoperative visualization during MRI-guided resection.
Brain Tumor Lab Tour
We wanted to give patients and advocates a first-hand look at how we study brain tumors, so we invited them to tour our lab. Our lab scientists guided our guests through interactive stations, showing how research to better understand how brain tumors work, and how to stop them, is conducted.
Lab News
(9/9/2023) Dr. Quan Zhou Recognized with Prestigious WMIS Awards
Dr. Quan Zhou, an Instructor in Dr. Li's Lab, has been honored with the WIMIN Rising Star Award and the WIMIN Scholars Award by the World Molecular Imaging Society (WMIS).
The WIMIN Rising Star Award commends remarkable contributions from early-career women scientists in molecular imaging, considering their contributions, innovative impact, and advancement of women in the scientific community. Concurrently, the WIMIN Scholars Award celebrates commendable scientific presentations at WMIC Annual Meetings. This recognition underscores Dr. Zhou’s significant impact and burgeoning future in molecular imaging research.
Read more about the awards and the WMIC 2023 highlights here.
(5/31/2023) Quan received the MCHRI Pilot Grant
Quan Zhou (Instructor in Neurosurgery and Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford) has received the Pilot Grant from The Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI). Her proposal "Advancing Treatment Strategies for Pediatric High-Grade Glioma: Theranostic Imaging and Targeted Therapy" aims to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of surgical procedures through fluorescence-guided surgery and deliver molecular targeted therapeutics to childhood brain cancer patients.
MCHRI Pilot Grants fund innovative maternal and child health-focused clinical and translational research. All projects must be significantly related to the health of expectant mothers and children. The awardee can be any practitioner or scientist who has a focus on maternal or child health research.
Congratulations, Dr. Zhou!
(5/26/2023) Quan was awarded the Alavi-Mandell Award from SNMMI
Quan Zhou (Instructor in Neurosurgery and Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford) has been awarded the Alavi-Mandell Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) for her Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM) paper, Factors for Differential Outcome Across Cancers in Clinical Molecule-Targeted Fluorescence Imaging.
The Alavi-Mandell award was established by the Alavi and Mandell families to honor their fathers, who valued education immensely. Unfortunately, they did not have an opportunity to reach their potential to become physician scientists. The award is given to individuals who were the first author of a paper published in the JNM, were trainees at the time the published work was carried out, and made a major contribution to the completion of the work. The award is accompanied by a monetary reward, which is provided by the established fund. Their aim is to encourage young physicians and scientists to pursue a career in academic and research in nuclear medicine.