Researcher Zhou Named Winthrop Rockefeller Chair

By David Robinson

 (From left) UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn; Daohong Zhou, M.D.; and College of Pharmacy Dean Stephanie Gardner at Zhou’s investiture Jan. 18 as the Winthrop Rockefeller Endowed Chair for Leukemia and Lymphoma Research.

Zhou (seated) receives the chair established with a gift from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. It will allow Zhou to advance his research, including making radiation therapy for cancer safer.

Jan. 19, 2011 | Daohong Zhou, M.D., was invested Jan. 18 as the inaugural recipient of the Winthrop Rockefeller Endowed Chair for Leukemia and Lymphoma Research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

The chair was established with a gift from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and will allow Zhou to advance his research, which focuses on making radiation therapy for cancer safer, less toxic and more effective, as well as developing safer, non-toxic medical countermeasures for use in radiological and nuclear emergencies.

“When Dr. Zhou joined us in 2010, he brought an unparalleled expertise in radiation-related research. His team is internationally recognized and their work will undoubtedly advance our understanding of how radiation can more effectively treat leukemia and other cancer patients,” UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., said at the investiture ceremony at UAMS.

Zhou and his team of researchers officially joined the UAMS College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in March 2010. He serves as professor and deputy director in the department’s Division of Radiation Health.

“He is not only a great scientist, but also an excellent mentor. He teaches us how to do science and also how to be a good person,” said Lijian Shao, M.D., Ph.D., research instructor in the Division of Radiation Health

In addition to Rahn and Shao, speakers at the ceremony included Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., dean of the UAMS College of Pharmacy; and Martin Hauer-Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Radiation Health in the College of Pharmacy and associate dean for research, and professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Surgery and Pathology.

“Daohong is open minded and kind. He is always ready to help others and exchange ideas. This is especially important in an environment such as UAMS, where collaboration is so important,” said Hauer-Jensen.

Zhou is the principal investigator for three Research Project Grants (R01s) and two American Recovery and Reinvestment Act administrative supplement grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling almost $4 million to examine radiation-induced injury to bone marrow.

“Patients are the driving force behind our research. I race to find a cure for a disease that causes so much suffering for so many people and their families. I hope now we can run the race faster,” said Zhou.

He previously served as a professor of pathology and an adjunct professor of radiation oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). From 2007 to 2010 he served as director of the Flow Cytometry Facility at Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC.

A graduate of Yunyang Medical College in Hubei, China, Zhou completed his internship at the college’s Affiliated Hospital and postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

He is a regular member of the NIH Radiation Therapeutics and Biology Study Section and a member of the International Society of Stem Cell Research, the American Society of Hematology, the International Society of Experimental Hematology and the Radiation Research Society.

In July 2010, Zhou was one of two University of Arkansas System researchers honored by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe when he was announced as an inaugural ARA Scholar.

Formed from funds appropriated by the state Legislature and authorized by the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority in 2007, the ARA aims to strengthen economic development in the state by championing university-based research and innovation in defined strategic focus areas.

Winthrop Rockefeller was elected Arkansas’ governor in 1966 and served two terms. He died of pancreatic cancer in 1973, at which time his wealth was divided between a charitable trust and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, which concentrates on economic development, education, as well as economic, racial and social justice.