Guo Zhong is the Drug Metabolism and Disposition Highlighted Trainee Author for the March 2021 issue. Dr. Zhong is a postdoctoral trainee in the Department of Pharmaceutics at the University of Washington. She is currently under the mentorship of Dr. Nina Isoherranen. After obtaining a BS degree in pharmaceutical science and an MS degree in pharmacology in China, Dr. Zhong was admitted to the pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry graduate program at the University of Florida and obtained her PhD degree in August 2016. The DMD article that earned her selection as the Highlighted Trainee Author is titled “Aldehyde Oxidase Contributes to All-Trans-Retinoic Acid Biosynthesis in Human Liver” and is available at https://doi.org/10.1124/dmd.120.000296.
Dr. Zhong’s area of research is to study retinoid metabolism and characterize human retinoid metabolizing enzymes. Her research projects are mainly focused on retinoic acid (RA) hydroxylase cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (CYP26) and RA synthesizing enzymes, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A (ALDH1A) and aldehyde oxidase (AOX). She has collaborated with several labs in retinoid research and is responsible for conducting retinoid bioanalysis in biological tissues using LC-MS/MS. Also, Dr. Zhong is interested in studying enzyme inactivation mechanisms and identifying drug-induced protein adducts. She is currently working on two research projects, one related to the characterization of RA biosynthesis in human adipose tissue and the other related to the inactivation mechanism of ALDH1A by WIN18,446.
The anticipated impact of Dr. Zhong’s research is that it will unveil the roles of various retinoid metabolizing enzymes in retinoid metabolism. Results from her research will benefit studies on the regulation of retinoid homeostasis in humans and help better understand the relationship between retinoid homeostasis and diseases, such as obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Outside the lab, Guo likes to watch movies and read comic books. She also likes to swim and travel.