Rugang Zhang

Dr. Rugang Zhang is Professor and Chair of the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he holds the John M. O'Quinn Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. He co-leads the CCSG Developmental Therapeutics program and serves as faculty at the UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

His research targets epithelial ovarian cancer—the deadliest gynecological malignancy—and explores cellular aging mechanisms to develop novel cancer therapies. Key focus areas include:

• Molecular pathways in ovarian carcinogenesis
• Aging-related drivers of tumor development
• Therapeutic translation of cellular senescence research

Dr. Zhang's distinguished career includes prior roles as Deputy Director and Endowed Professor at The Wistar Institute, where he led the Immunology, Microenvironment and Metastasis Program. He earned his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences and completed postdoctoral training at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Honors include two endowed professorships recognizing his contributions to oncology research.