Youyang Zhao

Youyang Zhao, Ph.D., is William G. Swartchild, Jr. Distinguished Research Professor and Director of the Program for Lung and Vascular Biology at the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. He is Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine), and Pharmacology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and member of the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute. Dr. Zhao joined Lurie Children’s in July 2017 from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he started with Assistant Professor in 2003 and became Full Professor of Pharmacology in 2015. Prior to his tenure at UIC, he had 3 year experience in drug discovery at Pharmacia/Pfizer Co. as a senior research scientist. He received his B.S. from Fudan University, Shanghai; and Ph.D. in molecular biology from Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. Zhao completed his postdoctoral training in molecular biology and cardiovascular biology at Harvard University; Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School; and The University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Youyang Zhao's lab is focused on lung and vascular biology to study the molecular mechanisms of acute lung injury/ARDS, and pulmonary hypertension and identify novel therapeutics for these devastating diseases. Current studies include 1) molecular mechanisms of endothelial regeneration and vascular repair; 2) how aging regulates these processes; 3) how endothelial cells regulate macrophage and neutrophil function for resolution of inflammation; 4) stem/progenitor cells in ALI and PH; 5) mechanisms of obliterative pulmonary vascular remodeling, and right heart failure; 6) lung regeneration; 7) drug discovery and nanomedicine; Also interested in blood-brain-barrier function regulation, pulmonary fibrosis, and cancer metastasis. Positions for Postdoc and Research Assistant Professor are available.