Zhi Zhong, M.D., Ph.D.

I have been a member of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) faculty since 2006 and am currently a tenured Professor. My research interest includes both basic and translational research on hepatology and toxicology, especially on the roles of free radicals and mitochondrial dysfunction in liver injury, inflammation and fibrosis. I have long-lasting interest in pathogenesis of alcohol-associated and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases and liver fibrosis. I am also interested in the mechanisms by which hepatic steatosis exacerbates hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury. I have substantial hands-on experience in induction of fatty livers by dietary and alcohol treatment and familiar with many techniques that are needed for these studies, e.g., in vivo gene delivery by viral vectors, liver pathology, immunohistochemistry, and fluorescent, electron, and confocal/multiphoton microscopy. I have also successfully trained many postdocs, technicians, and graduate students with these techniques. I have done extensive work in adopting confocal/multiphoton microscopic techniques to in vivo studies of mitochondrial dysfunction. Application of this state-of-the-art technology allows us to directly visualize the changes of mitochondria and other organelle in living animals and has led to many fundamental new findings.