Meet Jianjun Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Jianjun Zhang, MD, PhD
Department of Thoracic-Head & Neck Med Onc, Division of Cancer Medicine
About Dr. Zhang
Dr. Zhang obtained his MD and PhD degrees in China with numerous awards for achievement from Tongji Medical University and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, respectively. Between 2002 and 2008, he completed a Research Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering. His research focused on cancer genomics, molecular biomarker discovery and experimental therapeutics. Following his Clinical Internship and Residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Dr. Zhang joined MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2011 as a Clinical Fellow and later as a C.G. Johnson Advanced Scholar. Currently, Dr. Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology with a secondary appointment at the Department of Genomic Medicine. He is a physician-scientist, specializing in lung cancer medical oncology and with a lab investigating cancer genomics and immunogenomics of lung cancer. Dr. Zhang was selected for the T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Training Grant from 2012-2014. In 2013, he received the A. Lavoy Moore Endowment Fund Award. In 2015, he was awarded an ASCO Young Investigator Award and selected for the MD Anderson Physician Scientist Program and the Khalifa Scholar Award.
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Patient care
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Genomic Medicine, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
The focus of Dr. Zhang’s laboratory is to define modifications in genes that can cause a normal cell to become a cancer cell. Dr. Zhang is particularly interested in studying tumor heterogeneity, i.e. the cellular differences between tumors (inter-tumor heterogeneity) and within a tumor (intra-tumor heterogeneity), and its impact on a patient’s immune system competence, response to therapy and clinical outcome. Currently, there are no reliable biomarkers to predict which lung cancer patients are at a higher risk of relapse following surgery. Dr. Zhang’s work demostrates that tumor heterogeneity is an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival. His lab is analyzing the genetic information of tumor samples obtained from early stage and metastatic lung cancer patients and correlating it with tumor development, progression, metastasis and drug resistance. By understanding changes that happen over time, Dr. Zhang’s goal is to identify factors that predict how tumors respond to surgery and/or therapy and with this improve diagnosis, staging and treatment of lung cancer patients.
Clinical Interests
Dr. Zhang is a medical oncologist dedicated to improve the diagnosis and treatment of thoracic malignancies with a focus on lung cancer and its associated precancerous diseases. His major goals are to understand the cellular mechanisms underlying resistance to treatment, and to develop new biomarkers and novel treatment strategies for lung cancer patients. He dedicates time to patient care as well as to clinical and translational research. In the era of precision medicine, Dr. Zhang’s work focuses on understanding the genetic information of patients diagnosed with lung cancer in order to identify genes that can be used to select the patients that will benefit the most from different treatment approaches. He actively participates in multiple clinical trials and leads translational efforts associated with many of these trials.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2002 | Cancer Institute (Hospital), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, CHN, PHD, Oncology |
| 1997 | Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, CHN, MD, Medicine |
Postgraduate Training
| 2014-2015 | Research Fellowship, Cancer Genomics, The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2011-2014 | Clinical Fellowship, Hematology and Medical Oncology, The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2009-2011 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY |
| 2008-2009 | Clinical Internship, Internal Medicine, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY |
| 2002-2008 | Research Fellowship, Experimental Therapeutics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY |
Board Certifications
| 2014 | Hematology |
| 2014 | Medical Oncology |
| 2011 | Internal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Faculty, The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, 2018 - Present
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Skoulidis F, Byers LA, Diao L, Papadimitrakopoulou VA, Tong P, Izzo J, Behrens C, Kadara H, Parra ER, Canales JR, Zhang J, Giri U, Gudikote J, Cortez MA, Yang C, Fan Y, Peyton M, Girard L, Coombes KR, Toniatti C, Heffernan TP, Choi M, Frampton GM, Miller V, Weinstein JN, Herbst RS, Wong KK, Zhang J, Sharma P, Mills GB, Hong WK, Minna JD, Allison JP, Futreal A, Wang J, Wistuba II, Heymach JV. Co-occurring genomic alterations define major subsets of KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinoma with distinct biology, immune profiles and therapeutic vulnerabilities. Cancer Discov 5(8):860-77, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26069186.
- Zhang J, Gold KA, Lin HY, Swisher SG, Xing Y, Lee JJ, Kim ES, William WN. Relationship between tumor size and survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): an analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry. J Thorac Oncol 10(4):682-690, 2015. PMID: 25590605.
- Zhang J, Fujimoto J, Zhang J, Wedge DC, Song X, Zhang J, Seth S, Chow CW, Cao Y, Gumbs C, Gold KA, Kalhor N, Little L, Mahadeshwar H, Moran C, Protopopov A, Sun H, Tang J, Wu X, Ye Y, William WN, Lee JJ, Heymach JV, Hong WK, Swisher S, Wistuba II, Futreal PA. Intra-tumor Heterogeneity in Localized Lung Adenocarcinomas Delineated by Multi-region Sequencing. Science 346(6206):256-259, 2014. PMID: 25301631.
- Rotolo J, Stancevic B, Zhang J, Hua G, Fuller J, Yin X, Haimovitz-Friedman A, Kim K, Qian M, Cardó-Vila M, Fuks Z, Pasqualini R, Arap W, Kolesnick R. Anti-ceramide antibody prevents the radiation gastrointestinal syndrome in mice. J Clin Invest 122(5):1786-90, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22466649.
- Rotolo JA, Stancevic B, Lu SX, Zhang J, Suh D, King CG, Kappel LW, Murphy GF, Liu C, Fuks Z, van den Brink MR, Kolesnick R. Cytolytic T cells induce ceramide-rich platforms in target cell membranes to initiate graft-versus-host disease. Blood 114(17):3693-706, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19666872.
- Zhang J, Zafrullah M, Yang X, Yin X, Zhang Z, Fuks Z, Kolesnick R. Downregulation of KSR1 in pancreatic cancer xenografts by antisense oligonucleotide correlates with tumor drug uptake. Cancer Biol Ther 7(9):1490-1495, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18719367.
- Jin X, Zhang J, Gao Y, Ding K, Wang N, Zhou D, Jen J, Cheng S. Relationship between mitochondrial DNA mutations and clinical characteristics in human lung cancer. Mitochondrion 7(5):347-353, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17707697.
- Rotolo JA, Zhang J, Donepudi M, Lee H, Fuks Z, Kolesnick R. Caspase-dependent and -independent activation of acid sphingomyelinase signaling. J Biol Chem 280(28):26425-26434, 2005. e-Pub 2005. PMID: 15849201.
- Ch'ang HJ, Maj JG, Paris F, Xing HR, Zhang J, Truman JP, Cardon-Cardo C, Haimovitz-Friedman A, Kolesnick R, Fuks Z. ATM regulates target switching to escalating doses of radiation in the intestines. Nat Med 11(5):484-490, 2005. e-Pub 2005. PMID: 15864314.
- Zhang J, Zheng S, Gao Y, Rotolo JA, Xiao Z, Li C, Cheng S. A partial allelotyping of urothelial carcinoma of bladder in the Chinese. Carcinogenesis 25(3):343-247, 2004. e-Pub 2003. PMID: 14604888.
- Zheng S, Zhang J, Di X, Xiao Z, Wang D, Li C, He Z, Han N, Guo S, Cheng S, Gao Y. Loss of heterozygosity fine mapping of chromosome 17p13 in transitional cell carcinoma of human urinary bladder. Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 82(3):161-3, 2002. PMID: 11953150.
- Zhang J, Zheng S, Fan Z, Gao Y, Di X, Wang D, Xiao Z, Li C, An Q, Cheng S. A comparison between microsatellite analysis and cytology of urine for the detection of bladder cancer. Cancer Lett 172(1):55-58, 2001. PMID: 11595129.
- An Q, Dong X, Zhang J, Huang J, Li L, Cheng S, Gao Y.. Studies on inactivation of p16/CDKN2 gene in non-small-cell lung cancer. Chin Journal Cancer 20(6):591-594, 2001.
- Zhang J, Fan Z, Gao Y, Xiao Z, Li C, An Q, Cheng S. Detecting bladder cancer in the Chinese by microsatellite analysis: ethnic and etiologic considerations. J Natl Cancer Inst 39(1):45-50, 2001. PMID: 11136841.
Invited Articles
- Zhang J, Gold KA, Kim E. Sorafenib in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Expert Opin Investig Drugs 21(9):1417-1426, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22725255.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | The molecular and immune evolution in the progression of lung neoplasia to invasive adenocarcinoma |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 18, 2024