HAN ZHU LAB

Mission Statement

The Han Zhu Lab is dedicated to understanding immune-mediated diseases of the heart and developing therapies that make modern cancer treatment safer for patients. Our work focuses on immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-associated myocarditis and related inflammatory cardiovascular diseases, which can limit access to life-saving cancer immunotherapy. We study how immune cells, stromal cells, and tissue-specific signaling networks interact to drive cardiac inflammation, while preserving the anti-tumor immune responses critical for cancer control.

Our research integrates human patient biospecimens, translational multi-omics, and mechanistic experimental models to define disease pathogenesis and identify therapeutic targets. We use single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, TCR sequencing, CyTOF, plasma cell-free RNA profiling, iPSC-based human cardiac models, and mouse models of inflammatory heart disease to investigate immune cell crosstalk and tissue injury at high resolution. Current areas of focus include antigen-specific T cell responses, T cell–fibroblast signaling networks, and chemokine pathways such as the CXCR3-CXCL9/10 axis.

The lab collaborates closely with investigators across the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford Cancer Institute, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, and Division of Oncology to translate mechanistic discoveries into biomarker-driven and tumor-conscious therapeutic strategies for patients with cardiovascular inflammatory disease.