Zhichao Zhou

Zhichao Zhou

Principal Researcher | Docent
Visiting address: Norrbacka S1:02, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Solna, 17176 Stockholm
Postal address: K2 Medicin, Solna, K2 Kardio Pernow J Zhou Z, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • I am an Associate Professor and team leader at Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine Solna at Karolinska Institutet. I lead a research team conducting translational research in cardiovascular field with a current focus on diabetes-associated vascular complications. I graduated from a Medical school in China in 2007 and obtained my Ph.D. degree from the Department of Cardiology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 2013. I had my postdoc trainings at West Virginia University and Karolinska Institutet, respectively (2014-2018). My research focus is on the elucidation of novel disease mechanisms underlying cardiovascular complications and identification of effective therapeutic and diagnostic strategies for patients with cardiometabolic disease suffering from cardiovascular complications.

     

    My research team has been supported by a number of grants from the following funders:
    * Swedish Research Council (2023)
    * EFSD/Novo Nordisk Foundation Future Leaders Award (2022)
    * Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024)
    * Karolinska Institutet KID Funding (2021 and 2023)
    * Eva and Oscar Ahréns Foundation (2021)
    * Loo and Hans Ostermans Foundation (2018 and 2020)
    * Lars Hiertas Minne Foundation (2018)
    * Karolinska Institutet Grant (2018, 2020, 2020 and
    2022 and 2024)
    * Sigurt and Elsa Goljes Memorial Foundation (2017)
    * Olaussons Fund 2016

     

    Commission of trust:
    * Editorial board: Front Cardiovasc Med; Front Pharmacol; Purinergic Signal; ATVB (early career editorial board)
    * Coordinator of KIRCNET (2020-2023) [1]
    * Committee member: KIRCNET (2023-present), KiiM (2021-2023) [2] and Cardiovascular Research Seminar Series (2022-present)
    * Member of Swedish Cardiometabolic Research Network (SCAMN) (2023-present)
    * The SRP Diabetes PI group (2022-present) [3]
    * Member of EU-CardioRNA COST action (2021-present)
    * Guest editor: Front Cardiovasc Med 2022; Int J Hypertens 2019
    * Grant evaluation task for: UK Medical Research Council (MRC); Polish National Science Center and Health Research Council of New Zealand
    * Journal reviewer for: J Am Coll Cardiol; Eur Heart J; Circ Res; Cardiovasc Res; Hypertension; Atherosclerosis; Br J Pharmacol; J Appl Physiol; Am J Hypertens; JACC Asia; Mol Cell Life Sci; J Diabetes; J Diabetes Res; Front Cardiovasc Med; Front Pharmacol; Purinergic Signal etc.


    [1] https://ki.se/en/research/kircnet-ki-respiration-and-circulation-network
    [2] https://ki.se/en/research/kiim-ki-inflammation-and-immunology-network
    [3] https://ki.se/en/srp-diabetes/strategic-research-programme-in-diabetes-srp-diabetes

Research

  • Cardiovascular complications are significant clinical challenges in cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, contributing to high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite their prevalence, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood, and there is a lack of specific therapies and reliable biomarkers to address cardiovascular dysfunction.

    In recent years, our work has revealed that red blood cells (RBCs), traditionally viewed as passive oxygen carriers, undergo dysfunction and act as active mediators of vascular dysfunction. This dysfunction contributes to the development of vascular complications in type 2 diabetes, familial hypercholesterolemia, ST-elevation myocardial infarction, and COVID-19. Targeting these dysfunctional RBCs has emerged as a promising strategy for treating vascular dysfunction.

    RBCs are a rich source of diverse non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Through high-throughput profiling and functional validation, using samples from well-characterized clinical cohorts and disease models—including genetically modified animals—our team investigates the expression and functional role of RBC-derived ncRNAs. We explore how alterations in these ncRNAs contribute to cardiovascular complications and their potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

    Additionally, RBCs function as ATP reservoirs, releasing ATP under low oxygen tension. However, this ATP release is impaired in various disease states. A critical focus of our research is understanding the functional interactions between RBCs and the cardiovascular wall, specifically through ATP-mediated purinergic signaling pathways in cardiometabolic diseases and how they respond to hypoxia.

    Our ultimate goal is to identify RBC-derived factors as novel mechanisms driving cardiovascular complications and to establish them as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets, paving the way for improved clinical outcomes in cardiometabolic diseases.

Articles

All other publications

Grants

Employments

  • Principal Researcher, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2022-

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2024

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