Dr. Leonard Zon

Biography

Leonard Zon is a Professor at Harvard University, focusing on Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. His laboratory emphasizes developmental biology, specifically in the hematopoietic system and cancer. Zon has collected 30 mutants that affect the hematopoietic system, offering excellent animal models for human disease. He has employed a chemical genetic approach to blood development, revealing that prostaglandins stimulate blood stem cell engraftment in transplantation. Zon has led clinical trials aimed at improving engraftment in patients receiving cord blood transplants. His recent research investigates the immune system in zebrafish at a single-cell level, focusing on stem cell niche interactions. Zon’s lab has also developed zebrafish models for cancer, generating models for melanoma using transgenics. His transgenic fish exhibit nevi, and in combination with p53 mutations, develop melanomas. Using advanced imaging techniques, his laboratory observes CD8+ T cells and dendritic cells entering specific tumor regions termed craters, making zebrafish an ideal model for examining cancer niches.

Research Interests