Katherine Yanhang Zhang

Professor Katherine Yanhang Zhang holds a primary appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University, with affiliations in Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering. She directs the Center for Multiscale & Translational Mechanobiology and is an AIMBE Fellow (2021) and ASME Fellow (2018). Her research integrates experimental and computational approaches to study soft biological tissues, focusing on cardiovascular mechanics, extracellular matrix (ECM) behavior, and multiscale modeling. Key projects include arterial biomechanics under hypertension, aging effects on vascular properties, and mechanistic links between ECM structure and disease progression.

Education: PhD from University of Colorado Boulder. Awards include NSF CAREER (2010) and DARPA Young Faculty Awards (2007). Research emphasizes translational applications in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, particularly leveraging mechanobiological insights to address cardiovascular diseases. Over 150 publications span topics like arterial stiffness quantification, ECM-protein interactions, and micro-nano mechanical systems.