He uses neurogenesis in mice as a model system to study how neural stem (progenitor) cells are maintained and how neuronal diversity is generated in the mammalian nervous system. In particular, his team is probing the behavior of stem cells by changing their patterns of division, examining how cell fates are assigned to maintain tissue homeostasis, and using embryonic stem cells to probe human developmental mechanisms. Zhong completed his PhD at the Rockefeller University.