Regulation of tissue homeostasis and inflammation by cell-cell and cell-environment interactions

The inflammatory response is essential for host defense and tissue repair, yet excessive inflammation can lead to significant tissue damage. While much is known about how inflammation is initiated, far less is understood about how tissue context shapes immune responses. My research program investigates the emerging concept that non-immune cells actively modulate inflammation. We focus on two key areas: (1) immune–stromal interactions that govern immune organization in tissue homeostasis and inflammation, and (2) how immune cells sense and adapt to environmental cues such as pH. By uncovering how the tissue microenvironment informs immune behavior, we aim to define new principles of inflammation and develop strategies to modulate immune responses in context-dependent ways.

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From 23 Jan 2026 11:30
Until 23 Jan 2026 12:30
Location FSVMI building, seminar room

Speaker Xu Zhou
Affiliation Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital
Host Sophie Janssens

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About the speaker

Xu Zhou is a Principal Investigator in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Boston Children’s Hospital, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Xu grew up in Beijing, China. He earned a B.S. from Peking University and then obtained a Ph.D. with Dr. Erin O’Shea in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University, studying systems biology and transcriptional regulation. He then completed his postdoctoral training with Dr. Ruslan Medzhitov in the Department of Immunobiology at Yale University School of Medicine, investigating the mechanisms of tissue homeostasis and inflammation, with a focus on macrophages and fibroblasts. Since 2021, the Zhou Lab is interested in understanding how immune cells communicate with their neighbors and surrounding environment to control tissue homeostasis and inflammation.