Charting 3D Genome Landscapes in Native Tissue
Dr. Quan Zhu leads C4E’s Spatial and Functional Genomics platform, building a team of optical and electrical engineers, scientists, and bioinformaticians who map gene expression and chromatin structure within intact tissue architecture. She oversees complex experimental design, data interpretation, and cross-disciplinary collaborations — especially in areas such as developmental biology, brain biology, neurodegeneration, cardiobiology, aging, and cancer epigenomics models.
Her research career blends molecular biology, tissue-specific gene regulation, and viral-vector transgenesis in human and mouse models. Key contributions include uncovering a tumor-suppressor pathway involving heterochromatin and genomic stability via non-coding DNA regulatory mechanisms. She has published landmark work in Nature, that advances how we interpret complex 3D genomic structures.
In recent years, Dr. Zhu has co-led major efforts like a comparative atlas of single-cell chromatin accessibility in the human brain published in Science (2023), and a spatial map of the developing human heart featured in Nature (2024). Her group’s excellence reflects in her publication metrics: thousands of citations, an h‑index in the 30s, and a visible presence in systems biology and chromatin research.
Q&A with Quan Zhu
Meet Dr. Quan Zhu: Decoding Gene Regulation in 3D Tissue
Q: What drives your work?
Mapping how chromatin folds and genes express within their spatial context — and revealing how location and structure jointly regulate cellular identity and disease.
Q: What’s unique about your platform?
We combine multiplexed imaging methods like MERFISH and chromatin tracing with next-gen sequencing to bridge spatial biology and functional genomics in the same cells. That dual insight is rare and powerful.
Q: Why does C4E need this capability?
Our Center is pushing into the spatial dimension — understanding how cells interact within tissue architecture across development and disease. That requires methods that go beyond sequencing to imaging in situ.
Q: What collaborations excite you most?
Projects on brain development, cancer heterogeneity, and tissue engineering. We're also collaborating with teams using CRISPR screens to validate chromatin-regulatory elements in anatomical context.
Quan Zhu, PhD
Director, Spatial & Functional Genomics
Leader in Spatial Genomics
Imaging Innovation
Collaborative Functional Biology