Shouan Zhu, PhD

Associate Professor, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O. Endowed Professor

Life Science Building 133

Biomedical Sciences

Diabetes Institute

Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute

Athens

zhus1@ohio.edu

OpenScholar

Education:

Aging and Metabolism, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (Postdoc), 2017-2020
Orthopedics research, Johns Hopkins University (Postdoc), 2016-2017
Orthopedics research, Johns Hopkins University (PhD, 4, 5 year), 2014-2016
Stem cell and regenerative medicine (PhD, 1, 2, 3 year), Zhejiang University, 2011-2014

Biography:

I am the Director for the Osteoarthritis Research Laboratory. I was born and raised in China. I then traveled to different parts of the country and abroad for my graduate education and training in biomedical research. The consistent theme of my previous and current research has been studying the molecular mechanisms of osteoarthritis (OA) under different risk factors such as injury, aging, and obesity. My long-term career goal is to develop strategies to prevent joint degeneration. Since establishing my independent lab at Ohio University in 2020, we have discovered that Sirt5-protein lysine malonylation is altered in cartilage during aging and obesity (Cartilage 2021) and is playing an important role in OA development (Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 2021, and another manuscript in revision). We recently also discovered that excessive growth hormone, through regulating chondrocyte cellular metabolism, promotes OA development during aging and obesity (Arthritis & Rheumatology 2023, GeroScience 2024). We aspire to build a strong osteoarthritis research program at OHIO and to mentor the next generations of biomedical researchers.

Research Interests:

1. Protein post-translational lysine malonylation in metabolism and OA.
2. Chondrocyte lipogenesis and OA.
3. Growth hormone (GH) in chondrocyte metabolism and OA.

Publications:

Articles in which I serve as the senior/corresponding author (annotated by #):

Zhu S#, Batushansky A, Jopkiewicz A, Makosa D, Humphries KM, Van Remmen H, and Griffin TM. Sirt5 deficiency causes post-translational protein malonylation and dysregulated metabolism in chondrocytes under obesity conditions. Cartilage. 2021 Dec;13(2_suppl):1185S-1199S.
Liu H, Rosol TJ, Sathiaseelan R, Mann SN, Stout MB. Zhu S#. Cellular carbon stress is a mediator of obesity-associated osteoarthritis development. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 2021 May 10:S1063-4584(21)00729-9.
Liu H, Witzigreuter L, Sathiaseelan R, Agbaga, M-P, Brush R, Stout, M, Zhu S#. Obesity promotes lipid accumulation in mouse cartilage-a potential role of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) mediated chondrocyte de novo lipogenesis. Journal of Orthopedic Research, 2022 Dec;40(12):2771-2779.
Zhu S#, Liu H, Davis T, Willis CRG, Basu R, Witzigreuter L, Bell S, Szewczyk N, Lotz MK, Hill M, Fajardo RJ, O’Connor PM, Berryman DE, Kopchick JJ. Promotion of joint degeneration and chondrocyte metabolic dysfunction by excessive growth hormone in mice. Arthritis and Rheumatology. 2023 Jul;75(7):1139-1151.
H Liu; Davis T; Duran-Ortiz S; Martino T; Erdely A; Profio S; Osipov B; Loots GG; Berryman DE; O’Connor PM; Kopchick JJ; Zhu S#. Growth Hormone-Receptor Disruption in Mice Reduces Osteoarthritis and Chondrocyte Hypertrophy. GeroScience, 2024. In press.
Huanhuan Liu, Anupama Binoy, Siqi Ren, Thomas C Martino, Anna E Miller, Craig RG Willis, Shivakumar R Veerabhadraiah, Abhijit Sukul, Joanna Bons, Jacob P Rose, Birgit Schilling, Michael J Jurynec, Shouan Zhu#. Sirt5 regulates chondrocyte metabolism and osteoarthritis development through protein lysine malonylation. bioRxiv. In revision.

Articles in collaboration with others since start at OU:

Young JA, Zhu S, List EO, Duran-Ortiz S, Slama Y, Berryman DE. Musculoskeletal Effects of Altered GH Action. Front Physiol. 2022 May 19;13:867921.
Clark BC, Grooms DR, Etheridge T, Wilkinson DJ, Zhu S, Arnold WD, Szewczyk NJ. Editorial: Integrative Physiology of Common Chronic Musculoskeletal Disorders. Front Physiol. 2022 Jul 11;13:971103.
Batushansky A, Zhu S, Komaravolu RK, South S, Mehta-D’souza P, Griffin TM. Fundamentals of OA. An initiative of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. Chapter 9: obesity and metabolic factors in OA. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 2021 Sep 17;S1063-4584(21)00880-3.
Davis T, Tabury K, Zhu S, Angeloni D, Baatout S, Benchoua A, Bereiter-Hahn J, Bottai D, Buchheim JI, Calvaruso M, Carnero-Diaz E, Castiglioni S, Cavalieri D, Ceccarelli G, Choukér A, Cialdai F, Ciofani G, Coppola G, Cusella G, Degl'Innocenti A, Desaphy JF, Frippiat JP, Gelinsky M, Genchi G, Grano M, Grimm D, Guignandon A, Hahn C, Hatton J, Herranz R, Hellweg CE, Iorio CS, Karapantsios T, van Loon JJWA, Lulli M, Maier J, Malda J, Mamaca E, Morbidelli L, van Ombergen A, Osterman A, Ovsianikov A, Pampaloni F, Pavezlorie E, Pereda-Campos V, Przybyla C, Puhl C, Rettberg P, Rizzo AM, Robson-Brown K, Rossi L, Russo G, Salvetti A, Santucci D, Sperl M, Tavella S, Thielemann C, Willaert R, Szewczyk N, Monici M. How are cell and tissue structure and function influenced by gravity and what are the gravity perception mechanisms? NPJ Microgravity. 2024 Feb 10;10(1):16.
Zhu S, Makosa D, Mehta-D’souza P, Batushansky A, Lopes E, Griffin TM. Sirt3 promotes chondrogenesis, chondrocyte mitochondrial respiration and the development of high-fat diet-induced osteoarthritis in mice. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 2022 Dec;37(12):2531-2547.
Zhen G, Guo Q, Li Y, Wu C, Zhu S, Wang R, Guo XE, Kim BC, Huang J, Hu Y, Dan Y, Wan M, Ha T, An S, Cao X. Mechanical stress determines the configuration of TGFβ activation in articular cartilage. Nat Communications. 2021 March 17;12(1):1706.

Presentations and Awards:

2024 OHIO Emerging Presidential Research Scholar
2024 OHF Ralph S. Licklider, D.O. Endowed Professorship in Orthopedic Research
2023 Innovative Research Award, Rheumatology Research Foundation
2022 Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Journal 2021 outstanding reviewer award
2021 ASBMR FIRST awardee
2021-23 AFAR/ANRF The Arthritis and Aging Grant awardee
2020 The U.S. Bone and Joint Decades Young Investigator Initiative, selected trainee, virtual
2019 NIH/NIA Summer Training Course on Aging, selected trainee (20 in total nationwide), Oklahoma
2018-2020 Oklahoma Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship awardee, Oklahoma
2018 Best Poster Award, Symposium: "Physical Stress: Keeping Us Alive and Well", Oklahoma
2017 Postdoc Travel Grant (1 of 4 recipients), Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma
2016 Outstanding PhD graduate of 2016, Zhejiang University, China
2015 Cum Laude Award, International Cartilage Repair Society, Chicago
2014-16 National Scholarship for PhD student, China
2013 Sanofi-Award for Excellence in Cartilage Research, International Cartilage Repair Society, Turkey
2013 Best Poster Award, 6th Chinese Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Congress, China