Dr. Zou’s laboratory focuses on Epigenetics in the lung and the deregulation of epigenetic enzymes in pulmonary inflammation and infection. One of the ongoing studies is to understand how histone O-palmitoylation acts as a new epigenetic mark to regulate gene transcription. A related study area is to understand the molecular mechanism(s) of deregulation of epigenetic related enzymes at protein level in pulmonary infection, pneumonia, acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome by utilizing the state-of-the-art molecular, cellular and biochemical approaches and techniques. The long-term goal of the research aims at unveiling of the molecular behavior at protein level in pathophysiological settings and identifying Epigenetics-oriented therapeutic strategy for multi-drug resistant infectious pulmonary diseases.