Duke University · BiochemistryZhou Lab
Pei Zhou · Durham, North Carolina
Research Focus
Dr. Pei Zhou's lab at Duke University focuses on developing new antibiotics to combat multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, which are increasingly difficult to treat. The lab specifically studies LpxH, an enzyme critical for bacterial survival, and aims to create inhibitors that can effectively treat infections caused by resistant pathogens like E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Their innovative approach looks to exploit unexploited pathways in bacteria, potentially leading to breakthroughs in antibiotic therapy.
Gram-negative bacteriaantibioticsLpxHmultidrug-resistanceKlebsiella pneumoniaeE. colilipid Abacterial infectionsdrug developmentnovel therapeutics
Research Aims
5AIM 01Develop inhibitors targeting LpxH to combat antibiotic resistance.
AIM 02Evaluate the efficacy of LpxH inhibitors in murine infection models.
AIM 03Investigate the safety profiles of novel antibiotics in preclinical studies.
AIM 04Optimize drug-like properties of LpxH inhibitors.
AIM 05Understand the mechanism of resistance in Gram-negative pathogens.
Skills the Lab Values
small molecule synthesisin vitro assaysanimal models (mice)structural biologyenzyme assaysdrug binding studiesantibiotic susceptibility testinglipid biochemistrymolecular modelingbacteriology
Output against the department
Publications361top 16% of dept.62nd of 402
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations9.0kbottom 47% of dept.215th of 402
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.