Professional Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Peking University (2024)
  • Bachelor of Science, East China Normal University (2019)
  • Ph.D., Peking University, Beijing, China, Molecular Medicine (2024)
  • B.S., East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, Biological Sciences (2019)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    tyzhao@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Radiation Oncology Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

How p53 affects the tissue homeostasis in lung cancer and injury.

All Publications

  • p53 drives lung cancer regression through a TSC2/TFEB-dependent senescence program. Cancer discovery Wang, M., Bieging-Rolett, K. T., Kaiser, A. M., Brady, C. A., Lockhart, J. H., Ferreira, S., Nguyen, K. T., Rajeevan, A., Evans, S. A., Zhao, T., Raj, N., Elkrief, A., Tischfield, S. E., Ladanyi, M., Ozawa, M. G., Bui, N. Q., Chen, C. T., Flores, E. R., Attardi, L. D. 2025

    Abstract

    Pharmacological restoration of p53 tumor suppressor function is a conceptually appealing therapeutic strategy for the many deadly cancers with compromised p53 activity, including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, the p53 pathway has remained undruggable, partly because of insufficient understanding of how to drive effective therapeutic responses without toxicity. Here, we use mouse and human models to deconstruct the transcriptional programs and sequelae underlying robust therapeutic responses in LUAD. We show that p53 drives potent tumor regression by direct Tsc2 transactivation, leading to mTORC1 inhibition and TFEB nuclear accumulation, which in turn triggers lysosomal gene expression programs, autophagy, and cellular senescence. Senescent LUAD cells secrete factors to recruit macrophages, precipitating cancer cell phagocytosis and tumor regression. Collectively, our analyses reveal a surprisingly complex cascade of events underlying a p53 therapeutic response in LUAD and illuminate targetable nodes for p53 combination therapies, thus establishing a critical framework for optimizing p53-based therapeutics.

    View details for DOI 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0525

    View details for PubMedID 41115251

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1120-7272