Microbiology

Biography

Zhiheng Pei is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at New York University School of Medicine and serves as an Attending Pathologist in the Department of Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System, USA. He has broad interests in the etiology and pathogenesis of cancers and chronic diseases. In the past several years, he has been evaluating and pioneering a new concept – microecological disease, in several NIH-sponsored projects involving cancers in the mouth, esophagus, and stomach as well as disease in tonsils. His laboratory defined the esophageal microbiome and demonstrated its association with esophageal adenocarcinoma in one of the Human Microbiome Demonstration Projects sponsored by NIH Roadmap Initiative. His team also discovered the link of periodontal pathogens to oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. Clinically, he is interested in the diagnosis of diseases due to uncultivable microbial agents in fixed tissue specimens, using molecular techniques.

Research Interest

Clinically, he is interested in the diagnosis of diseases due to uncultivable microbial agents in fixed tissue specimens, using molecular techniques.