Qing Zhang, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology, is the recipient of the 2024 American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) Outstanding Investigator Award, which recognizes midcareer investigators who have demonstrated excellence in experimental pathology research.

“This is a recognition of a body of work done by our team, and I am so proud of what we have accomplished, which may translate into helping cancer patients in the very near future,” said Dr. Zhang, who is also Chief Scientific Officer for the Breast Cancer Research Program at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, co-Director of the Kidney Cancer Career Enhancement Program at UT Southwestern, and a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar in Cancer Research.

Hypoxia – when cells are deprived of oxygen – is common in solid cancers. Dr. Zhang studies how cancer cells sense low oxygen tension, acclimate to that stressful environment, and quickly multiply.

“Our research aims to determine the underlying cause of how these cancer cells adapt to the harsh living environment in the oxygen-deprived condition, which makes them more aggressive and more resistant to radiation or chemotherapy,” said Dr. Zhang, a member of the Simmons Cancer Center.

Dr. Zhang and his team have elucidated how these molecules contribute to cancer progression and metastasis, especially in breast and kidney cancer patients. They also have pioneered proteomic and genomic approaches to identify new signaling molecules in oxygen-sensing signaling pathways, which have yielded potential therapeutic targets in cancer. The team is currently testing new therapeutic intervention strategies.

“We have identified some small molecules through our biochemical screen that we are optimizing to be tested in the preclinical setting. We are hopeful that these therapeutic agents will soon be translated into potential clinical trials to help cancer patients,” Dr. Zhang said.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Wuhan University in China, Dr. Zhang earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow and instructor in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate William Kaelin Jr., M.D., at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston before joining the University of North Carolina School of Medicine as Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine with a secondary appointment in the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 2019, Dr. Zhang was recruited to UT Southwestern with the help of a CPRIT Rising Star Award.

In 2020, Dr. Zhang was honored with the ASIP Cotran Early Career Investigator Award. His research has been supported by a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health, a Susan G. Komen Career Catalyst Research grant, as well as research awards from the National Cancer Institute, CPRIT, the Department of Defense, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation, the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the Mary Kay Ash Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and the Kidney Cancer Research Alliance.

Dr. Zhang will receive the 2024 ASIP Outstanding Investigator Award during the ASIP annual meeting in Baltimore in April 2024.