Before joining TxCell, he worked at the Chinese immuno-oncology company ZMKS International Cancer Therapy Biotechnology as CSO and Director of R&D. From 2009 to 2016, Zhou was Lab Head, Investigator at the Novartis Biologics Center in Cambridge, US.

In this role, he led the discovery and engineering activities on Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells (CAR-T) for cancer immunotherapy, with lead candidates now in clinical trials. He also led the development of next-generation CAR-Ts, including inducible CAR-Ts, which have achieved in vivo proof-of-concept.

Zhou holds a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the Beijing University and is the author of a number of patents and peer-reviewed publications.