Assistant Professor
I received my Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Jinan University under the mentorship of Prof. Xian-hui He. My doctoral research focused on the anti-melanoma effects of cucurbitacin B and its underlying molecular mechanisms. This work has been highly cited and has contributed significant insights into how cucurbitacins act
on the actin cytoskeleton, supporting their development as potential anticancer agents(PMIDs: 21642275, 21628505, 24691407, 23695982, 22699368).
After completing my Ph.D., I joined Dr. Hancai Dan at the University of Maryland School of Medicine as a postdoctoral fellow, helping establish a new laboratory focused on prostate cancer research (PMIDs: 26374334, 27196761).
From 2016 to 2020, I worked in the lab of Prof. Frank McKeon at the University of
Houston. Under his guidance, I contributed to gastrointestinal (GI) stem cell research using a novel culture system developed by his team (Wang Xia et al., Nature, 2015,PMID: 26040716). My early projects explored the region specific regulation of human fetal GI stem cells, leading to the identification of key genes involved in GI tract development.
During my time in Prof. McKeon's lab, I successfully cultured mouse stomach stem cells, performed air-liquid interface (ALI) analysis, prepared samples for RNA expression profiling, and conducted animal model studies. In 2017, I collected treatment-naive biopsies from cancer patients and successfully cultured patient-matched stem cells across the Barrett’s esophagus–dysplasia–adenocarcinoma sequence. This enabled the construction of a high-resolution evolutionary map of esophageal adenocarcinoma using patient-derived stem cells (AACR Abstract).
This work led to two research grants from the National Cancer Institute, one patent application, and the development of a drug screening platform.
Later, I joined the lab of Prof. Shuan Zhang, where I completed a project that involved engrafting a surrogate antigen onto the tumor cell surface via the pHLIP peptide to enhance CAR-T cell targeting of solid tumors (PMID: 39489212).
Before joining Coriell, I was part of Dr. Eric Jonasch’s team at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where I worked on renal carcinoma and DNA damage–related research (PMID: 37527013).
Since joining the Coriell Institute, I have been investigating therapeutic strategies for gastroesophageal cancers, including the use of CDK9 degraders (PMID: 40060472) and YAP/TEAD inhibitors, while continuing to explore novel targets for GI cancer therapy.
If you are interested in learning more about my research, please feel free to contact me at yzhang@coriell.org or visit my profiles:
