Hong Zhao MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology in Oncology

Co-Director of Advanced Cellular and Tissue Microscope Core 

Houston Methodist Cancer Center

Up to 40% of patients with cancer develop brain metastases, mostly at the advanced disease stage. However, brain metastases are consistently found with increased frequency in early stage triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, indicating an innate ability of TNBC tumor cells to adapt to the brain. Dr. Zhao’s research focuses on exploring the cellular plasticity of TNBC tumor cells in mediating their colonization and outgrowth in the brain. Her research also integrates knowledge and methods from both neuroscience and cancer to characterize pro- and anti-metastatic molecular mechanisms in brain astrocytes. Further, she leverages powerful predictive computational modeling to investigate and delineate the complex tumor-niche interactions.