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Lee Zou

George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor
Pharmacology & Cancer Biology

Current Appointments & Affiliations


George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor · 2024 - Present Pharmacology & Cancer Biology, Basic Science Departments
Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology · 2023 - Present Pharmacology & Cancer Biology, Basic Science Departments
Chair, Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology · 2023 - Present Pharmacology & Cancer Biology, Basic Science Departments
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 2023 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published March 19, 2024
Duke Awards 32 New Distinguished Professorships for 2024
Published November 9, 2023
Immunotherapy Plus an Investigational Cancer Drug Improves Anti-Tumor Effects

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Recent Publications


ATR Safeguards Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition by Countering R-loops and Enabling Transcription Reprogramming.

Journal Article J Clin Invest · January 22, 2026 Transitions of cancer cells between distinct cell states, which are typically driven by transcription reprogramming, fuel tumor plasticity, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Whether the transitions between cell states can be therapeutically targeted ... Full text Link to item Cite

SMARCAL1 is a targetable synthetic lethal therapeutic vulnerability in ATRX-deficient gliomas that use Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres.

Journal Article Neuro Oncol · January 10, 2026 BACKGROUND: Approximately 10% of cancers achieve replicative immortality through a telomerase-independent mechanism of telomere maintenance, termed Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT). ALT is particularly prevalent in certain subtypes of malignant g ... Full text Link to item Cite

ZNF280A links DNA double-strand break repair to human 22q11.2 distal deletion syndrome.

Journal Article Nat Cell Biol · June 2025 DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) are among the most deleterious forms of DNA damage and, if unresolved, result in DNA mutations and chromosomal aberrations that can cause disease, including cancer. Repair of DSBs by homologous recombination requires extensiv ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Therapeutic targeting of SMARCAL1 in therapy-resistant gliomas

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2026 - 2031

Pharmacological Sciences Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPreceptor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2030

Mechanisms of replication fork protection and recovery

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Washington University in St. Louis · 2023 - 2030

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Education


Stony Brook University · 1999 Ph.D.