Yong Zhang

Dr. Yong (Tiger) Zhang is an Associate Professor with tenure at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Pharmacy, holding a joint appointment in the Department of Chemistry at Dornsife College. His multidisciplinary research bridges chemistry and biology, focusing on post-translational modification (PTM) enzyme characterization and antibody engineering for cancer and disease therapeutics.

Research interests include:

• Systematic dissection of PTMs in life-threatening diseases
• Development of site-specific antibody-drug conjugates
• Engineering exosomes for immunotherapy
• Design of NAD+ analogues for ADP-ribosylation studies
• High-throughput screening for novel therapeutics

Notable awards and grants:

• NIH R01 grants (NCI, NIBIB)
• USC Ming Hsieh Institute grants
• Epstein Breakthrough Alzheimer’s Research Fund
• STOP CANCER Research Career Development Award
• V Scholar PLUS Grant (Cancer Research)

Publications (2022–2025) reveal expertise in ADP-ribosylation, exosome engineering, and site-specific drug conjugation, with collaborations spanning cancer, neurodegeneration, and infectious diseases.

Lab members include 12 PhD students (e.g., Sunny Kim, Zeyu Zhang), 4 postdoctoral fellows, and 8 master’s students. Former trainees (14 PhD/MSc alumni) now hold positions in academia and industry.