Zilu Zhu Ph.D. (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Zilu Zhu, PhD, is affiliated with the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla, CA, United States, having completed doctoral training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Zhu's research focuses on B cell biology, signal transduction pathways, autoimmune disease mechanisms, inflammation, and Fc receptor function. Notable contributions include elucidating the roles of AKT isoforms in germinal center B cell fate decisions, as well as investigations into MALT1 and PDK1 in B cell survival and differentiation, FCRL5 in innate-like B cell receptor signaling, and Fc receptor for IgM (FcμR) in antibody responses. Dr. Zhu's most-cited work, "The AKT isoforms 1 and 2 drive B cell fate decisions during the germinal center response" (2019), has been cited 21 times and exemplifies ongoing efforts to understand the molecular regulation of B cell development and immune dysregulation in autoimmune contexts.