Laboratory of Rare Lung Diseases

Hengjiang Zhao, M.D., Ph.D.

Hengjiang Zhao, MD, PhDSenior Research Investigator
University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Pulmonary, Allergy, & Critical Care Division
Translational Research Laboratories (TRL)
125 South 31st Street, TRL Suite 1200
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3413

(215) 746-2891
(215) 746-1224
hezhao@mail.med.upenn.edu

Education: 
M.D., Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences, Changchun, China
Ph.D., Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan

Residency: 
Zhejiang Medical University, Hangzhou, China

Postdoctoral Fellowship: 
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Dr. Zhao completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2006, he joined Dr. Panettieri's Laboratory in the Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Division at the University of Pennsylvania in 2006. Airway smooth muscle (ASM) plays a critical role in regulating bronchomotor tone in patients with asthma. ASM expresses adhesion molecules and secretes inflammatory mediators that play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic airway diseases. Dr. Zhao's research is involved in studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms of these molecules and how they regulate airway smooth muscle cell growth.

Selected publications

  1. Goncharova EA, Goncharov DA, Zhao H, Penn RB, Krymskaya VP, Panettieri RA Jr. B2-adrenergic receptor agonists modulate human airway smooth muscle cell migration via vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein.Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2012 Jan; 46(1):48-54.
  2. Gautam Damera, William F Jester, Meiqi Jiang, Hengjiang Zhao, Homer W Fogle, Michael Mittelman, Angela Haczku Murphy E, Indu Parikh, Reynold A Panettieri, Jr. Inhibition of myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) protein inhibits ozone-induced airway neutrophilia and inflammation. Exp Lung Res. 2010 Mar; 36(2):75-84.
  3. Yassine Amrani, Farhat Syed, Chris Huang, Katherine Li, Veronica Liu, Deepika Jain, Stefan Keslacy, Michael W Sims, Hasna Baidouri, Philip R Cooper, Hengjiang Zhao, Salman Siddiqui, Christopher E Brightling, Don Griswold, Lily Li, and Reynold A Panettieri, Jr. Expression and activation of the oxytocin receptor in airway smooth muscle cells: Regulation by TNF and IL-13. Respir Res. 2010; 11(1): 104.
  4. Gautam Damera, Meiqi Jiang, Hengjiang Zhao, Homer W Fogle, William F Jester, Jose Freire, and Reynold A Panettieri, Jr. Allergen-induced hyperresponsiveness and reduces eosinophilia in murine model of airway inflammation. Eur J Pharmacol  (2010).
  5. Gautam Damera, Meiqi Jiang, Hengjiang Zhao, Homer W Fogle, William F Jester, Jose Freire, and Reynold A Panettieri, Jr. Aclidinium bromide abrogates allergen-induced hyperresponsiveness and reduces eosinophilia in murine model of airway inflammation. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 334(1):63-8 (2010).
  6. Gautam Damera, Hengjiang Zhao, Miao Wang, Michael A Smith, Christopher Kirby, William F Jester, John A Lawson, and Reynold A Panettieri, Jr. Ozone modulates IL-6 secretion in human airway epithelial and smooth muscle cells. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol (February 6, 2009).
  7. Samuel J Garber, Huayan Zhang, Joseph P Foley, Hengjiang Zhao, Stephan J Butler, Rodolfo I Godinez, Marye H Godinez, Andrew J Gow, and Rashmin C Savani. Hormonal regulation of alveolarization: structure-function correlation. Respir Res. 2006; 7(1): 47.
  8. Zaman A, Cui Z, Foley JP, Zhao HJ, Grimm PC, Delisser HM, Savani RC. Expression and Role of the Hyaluronan Receptor RHAMM in Inflammation After Bleomycin Injury. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2005 Jul 21; (2005)
  9. Nemoto K, Zhao HJ, Goto T, Ogawa Y, Takai Y, Matsushita H, Takeda K, Takahashi C, Saito H, Yamada S.Radiation therapy for limited-stage small-cell esophageal cancer. Am J Clin Oncol. Aug; 25(4):404-7. (2002).
  10. Zhao HJ, Hosoi Y, Miyachi H, Ishii K, Yoshida M, Nemoto K, Takai Y, Yamada S, Suzuki N, Ono T. DNA-dependent protein kinase activity correlates with Ku70 expression and radiation sensitivity in esophageal cancer cell lines. Clin Cancer Res. Mar;6(3):1073-8. (2000)