Henry W. Zhou, MD, MS

Hailing from Pasadena, California, Dr. Henry W. Zhou received his BA, magna cum laude with distinction, in Biochemistry with a minor in Chemistry, from the University of Pennsylvania. He sub-matriculated with his MS in Chemistry, with his thesis “Characterizing target of poxn as a regulator for midline axon guidance.” He was a Vagelos Scholar in Molecular Life Sciences, which funds research for academically outstanding students studying biochemistry. He also received a Penn Undergraduate Research Mentorship Fellowship to study amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using fruit flies, resulting in a publication in Human Molecular Genetics.

As an undergraduate, he co-founded and served as Chief Science Officer at Cellview Sciences, where he developed a non-invasive molecular approach to reduce miscarriage rates in in-vitro fertilization (IVF). This work earned him first place in the Wharton School’s Y-Prize competition to provide seed funding, and his team was selected for the federal I-CORPS program applying Lean Startup methodology.

Dr. Zhou went on to earn his MD from Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. While in medical school, he received a T-35 Grant from the National Institutes of Health to study epilepsy biomarkers using stereotactic EEG. He also served as Vice President of Columbia’s Chapter of Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association, and Co-President of Columbia’s Neurosurgery Interest Group.

Dr. Zhou has presented his work nationally at conferences including the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He has published 11 papers in peer-reviewed journals, three of those as first author. He also has a textbook chapter in Retinitis Pigmentosa, part of the Methods in Molecular Biology series.