Overview of Science and Mission
People Behind the Science
About the People
Dr. Zuo-Hui Shao, M.D.
Dr. Zuohui Shao received her M.D. with Honors from Dalian Medical University in Dalian, China in 1965. She has had extensive clinical and teaching experience while in China. She did a Post Doctoral Fellowship in the Vascular Biology and Hypertension Program, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham under Professor Suzanne Oparil’s direction in 1989. She had two Henry Christian Memorial Awards for Excellence in American Federation Clinical Research in 1991 and the post award in American Society of Seventh Scientific Meeting of Hypotension in 1992.
In 1992, Dr. Shao became a Research Associate at the University of Chicago. During her tenure, she has been one of the major contributors in establishing the ERC’s basic science research lab and is an integral part of its success. She has developed a cellular ischemia and reperfusion system that allows for online studies of oxidant stress, contraction, and cell death in primary chick and mouse cardiomyocytes. She has been awarded two NIH grants for her advanced research in Chinese herbal medicine and is a major collaborator on numerous other grants. Her ultimate research goal is to use herbal extracts to prevent and treat ischemic heart disease.
Dr. Zuohui Shao’s research interest is investigating the mechanisms of ischemia and reperfusion injury in cardiomyocytes. She is focused on studying the generation and function of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and nitrogen species in response to ischemic signaling. In particular, Dr. Shao is interested in studying how therapeutic hypothermia protects against ischemia reperfusion injury as well as how some of hypothermia’s protective properties may be duplicated by Chinese herbs. She has shown that flavonoid constituents of herbs can have both antioxidant and pro-oxidant cardioprotective effects during ischemia and reperfusion. She has initiated research projects that utilize Chinese herbal medicines to preserve cell function in injured cardiomyocytes.
Selected Representative Publications
Shao, ZH., Chang WT., Chan, KC., Wojcik, KR., Hsu, CW., Li, CQ,
Anderson, T., Hamann, KJ., Becker, LB., Vanden Hoek, TL.: Hypothermia induced cardioprotection by extended ischemia and early reperfusion cooling. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 292(4): H1995-H2003, 2007.
Shao, ZH., Hsu, CW., Chang, WT., Waypa, GB., Li, J., Li, D., Li, CQ., Anderson, T., Qin, YM., Schumacker, PT., Becker, LB., Vanden Hoek, TL.: Cytotoxicity induced by grape seed proanthocyanidins: Role of nitric oxide. Cell Biology and Toxicology 22:149-158, 2006.
Shao, ZH., Xie, JT., Vanden Hoek, TL., Mehendale, S., Aung, H., Li, CQ., Qin,
YM., Schumacker, PT., Becker, LB., Yuan, CS.: Antioxidant effects of American ginseng berry extract in cardiomyocytes exposed to acute oxidant stress. Biochem Biophys Acta1670:165-171, 2004
Shao, ZH., Vanden Hoek, TL., Qin, YM., Li, CQ., Becker, LB., Schumacker, PT., Dey, L., Barth, E., Halpern, H., Rosen, GM., Yuan, CS.: Baicalein attenuate oxidant stress in cardiomyocytes. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 282, H999-H1006, 2002.
Shao, Z.H., Li, CQ., Vanden Hoek, TL., Becker, LB., Schumacker, PT., Wu, AJ., Attele, AS., Yuan, CS.: Extract from scutellaria baicalensis Georgi attenuates oxidant stress in cardiomyocytes J Mol Cell Cardiol 31:1885-1895, 1999.