Qing Zhang

Qing Zhang is a tenured Professor in the Department of Pathology at UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), where he also holds the CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research and Komen Distinguished Chair. He leads the Zhang Lab, focusing on hypoxia signaling, prolyl hydroxylase pathways, and VHL tumor suppressor mechanisms in breast and renal cancers. His roles include Chief Scientific Officer for the Breast Cancer Research Program and co-director of the Career Enhancement Program for kidney cancer research at UTSW’s Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Education: B.S. from Wuhan University (2001), Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (2005). Postdoctoral training with Nobel laureate William Kaelin Jr. at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2006–2013). Promoted to Associate Professor at UNC Chapel Hill (2013–2019) before joining UTSW.

Research Interests: Hypoxia-driven cancer progression, VHL signaling in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), oncogenic drivers (e.g., ZHX2, BBOX1), tumor microenvironment, metabolic reprogramming in cancer. Key projects include identifying therapeutic targets like TBK1 and SFMBT1 in VHL-deficient tumors.

Publications: Over 50 peer-reviewed articles, including high-impact work in Nature Communications, Cancer Discovery, and Science. Recent focus on epigenetic regulation (m6A modifications), TBK1 synthetic lethality, and metastatic mechanisms.

Awards: CPRIT Rising Star Award, ASIP Outstanding Investigator Award, Kimmel Scholar Award. Serves on NIH study sections and advisory boards for journals like Science Translational Medicine.

Grants: Continuous NIH funding, including NCI, CPRIT, DoD, and ACS grants. Research supported by Komen, Mary Kay, and Sidney Kimmel Foundations.

Labs/Teams: Zhang Lab at UTSW, collaborating on projects like HIF regulation, VHL synthetic lethality screens, and CAR T cell immunotherapy.