PhD
Dr. Zhou Zhi Dong is a Clinician Scientist and Principal Investigator at the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI), Singapore, and an Assistant Professor in the Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders (NBD) Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School. He graduated with a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from Nantong Medical University in 1991 and completed five years of postgraduate clinical training in Internal Medicine at the First People’s Hospital of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, China. He later earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / Biophysics from the Shanghai Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2003. Following his doctoral studies, Dr. Zhou undertook postdoctoral training in Parkinson’s disease (PD) research at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Dr. Zhou joined the National Neuroscience Institute where he became a member of the National PD Translational Bench-to-Bedside Team, focusing on translational neuroscience and neurodegenerative disorders. His current research explores novel therapeutic targets, neuroprotective agents, and biomarkers in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, aiming to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic strategies.
Translational Neuroscience: Biomarkers and therapeutic targets in neurodegenerative diseases (PD, AD, and related disorders).
Molecular Mechanisms: Mitochondrial dysfunction, dopamine metabolism, LRRK2 signaling, α-synuclein toxicity, and the ubiquitin-proteasome system.
Therapeutic Innovation: Discovery and validation of novel neuroprotective agents and molecular inhibitors (e.g., antioxidants targeting LRRK2, tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitors).
Cell & Gene Models: Use of patient-derived stem cells, transgenic models, and AI-driven analytics for understanding disease pathogenesis and drug discovery.
Key Scientific Contributions:
LRRK2–PINK1 Functional Balance: Identified how this interaction modulates tyrosine hydroxylase–dopamine pathways in PD, leading to new therapeutic targets (Cellular & Molecular Life Science).
FBXO7 Mutation Mechanism: Discovered mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress pathways in FBXO7-linked PD (Human Molecular Genetics).
Endogenous Dopamine Toxicity: Demonstrated that α-synuclein and PINK1 neurotoxicities depend on endogenous dopamine (Experimental Cell Research, Free Radical Biology & Medicine).
Novel LRRK2 Therapeutic Targets: Showed that LRRK2 phosphorylates APP and PRDX3, providing mechanisms for oxidative neurotoxicity and potential interventions (Science Signaling, Human Molecular Genetics).
Cell Therapy Models: Contributed to transplantation studies using human iPSC-derived midbrain dopaminergic neurons, showing improved functional recovery in PD models (Stem Cells Translational Medicine).
Current Funded Projects (as Principal Investigator or Co-PI):
Investigating CGG repeat expansions in neurodegeneration (Duke-NUS, NMRC grants).
miRNA therapeutic targets in Parkinson’s disease (NMRC CIRG).
Tyrosine hydroxylase inhibition in LRRK2-linked PD.
AI-based discovery of mRNA-targeting small-molecule compounds.
Mentorship & Teaching:
Supervised over 80 undergraduate, postgraduate, and medical students.
Mentors clinician-scientists and early-career researchers at Duke-NUS and NNI.
Editorial and Peer-Review Roles:
Reviewer and board member for >100 journals.
Editorial affiliations with Nature Reviews Neurology, Molecular Neurodegeneration, Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, and others.
