Dr. Zemin Zhang obtained hs Bachler degree in Genetics from Nankai University, and PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Penn State University. He received additional training in Information Technology from UC Berkeley and postdoctoral trainings in Laboratory Medicine from UC San Francisco.Prior to joining Peking University, Dr. Zhang spent over 16 years at Genentech/Roche, leading the cancer genomics and bioinformatics group to discover anticancer targets and biomarkers using new technologies such as machine learning and high throughput sequencing. He has pioneered multiple research directions in computational cancer biology and cancer genomics including the first ever whole genome tumor sequencing. He is also an inventor for 60 issued US patents and has directly contributed to the initial finding of the molecular targets of multiple cancer therapeutic agents in clinical trials. He is on the editorial boards for journals including Cell Systems and Genome Medicine. He is a CUSBEA Scholar, and also a Cheung Kong Scholar.

The Zhang Lab aims to help advance cancer immunotherapies and targeted therapies by applying cutting-edge genomic and informatics technologies to solve important problems in cancer biology. Our laboratory combines computational (dry) and experimental (wet) approaches to uncover both systematic trends and specific elements influencing oncogenic processes, tumor microenvironment, and drug responses. First, we use single cell sequencing technologies to delineate the detailed composition and functional status of the tumor microenvironment, in particular the landscape of the tumor infiltrating immune cells. We also use single cell technologies to address tumor heterogeneity and how such heterogeneity influence cancer cell evolution and drug responses. Second, we apply novel bioinformatics methods to the ever-expanding cancer genomics “big data” to reveal cancer subtypes, driver genes, and underlying genetics basis leading to functional events such as gene fusions, allele-specific expression, and tumor-specific expression isoforms. Third, we develop innovative bioinformatics tools to analyze, integrate and visualize single cell genomics data as well as large-scale cancer genomics data so that such data can effectively serve the wide research community. Ultimately, we hope to bring innovative cancer immunotherapy strategies through our cancer immunogenomics advances.

• Selected Publications

　1.　L. Zhang, X. Yu, L. Zheng, Y. Zhang, Y. Li, Q. Fang, R. Gao, B. Kang, Q. Zhang, J.Y. Huang, H. Konno, X. Guo, Y. Ye, S. Gao, S. Wang, X. Hu, X. Ren, Z. Shen*, W. Ouyang*, and Z. Zhang*. (2018) Lineage tracking reveals dynamic relationships of T cells in colorectal cancer. Nature, 564:268-272.

　2.　X. Guo, Y. Zhang, L. Zheng, C. Zheng, J. Song, Q. Zhang, B. Kang, Z. Liu, L. Jin, R. Xing, R. Gao, L. Zhang, M. Dong, X. Hu, X. Ren, D. Kirchhoff, H. G. Roider, T. Yan*, and Z. Zhang*. (2018) Global characterization of T cells in non-small cell lung cancer by single-cell sequencing. Nature Medicine, 24:978-985.

　3.　X. Ren*, B. Kang, and Z. Zhang*. (2018) Understanding tumor ecosystems by single-cell sequencing: promises and limitations. Genome Biology, 19:211.

　4.　C. Zheng, L. Zheng, J.-K. Yoo, H. Guo, Y. Zhang, X. Guo, B. Kang, R. Hu, J. Y. Huang, Q. Zhang, Z. Liu, M. Dong, X. Hu, W. Ouyang*, J. Peng*, and Z. Zhang* (2017) landscape of infiltrating T cells in liver cancer revealed by single-cell sequencing. Cell, 169(7), 1342–1356.

　5.　Z. Tang, C. Li, B. Kang, G. Gao, C. Li, and Z. Zhang*. (2017) GEPIA: a web server for cancer and normal gene expression profiling and interactive analyses. Nucleic Acids Research, 45(W1):W98-W102.

　6.    X. Hu and Z. Zhang*. (2016) Understanding the genetic mechanisms of cancer drug resistance using genomic approaches. Trends in Genetics. 32(2):127-37.

　7.　C. Klijn, S. Durinck, E. Stawiski, P. M.Haverty, Z. Jiang, H. Liu, J. Degenhardt, O. Mayba, F. Gnad, J. Liu, G.  Pau, J. Reeder, Y. Cao, K. Mukhyala, S. K. Selvaraj, M. Yu, G. J. Zynda, M. J. Brauer, T. D. Wu, R. C. Gentleman, G. Manning, R. L. Yauch, R.  Bourgon, D. Stokoe, Z. Modrusan, R. M. Neve, F. J. de Sauvage, J. Settleman*, S. Seshagiri*, and Z. Zhang*. (2015) A comprehensive transcriptional portrait of human cancer cell lines. Nature Biotechnology, 33:305-315.

　8.　S. Jhunjhunwala, Z*. Jiang, E. W. Stawiski, F. Gnad, J. Liu, O. Mayba, P. Du, J. Diao, C. Santos, K-F Wong, Z. Gao, Y. Li, S. Johnson, H. M. Stern, T. D. Wu, S. B. Kapadia, Z. Modrusan, J. M.Luk, D. M. French, S. Seshagiri, and Z. Zhang*. (2014) Diverse modes of genomic alterations in hepatocellular carcinoma. Genome Biology, 15:436.

　9.　J. Liu*, M. McCleland, E. Stawiski, F. Gnad,  P. M. Haverty, S. Durinck, Y-J. Chen, C. Klijn, O. Mayba, S. Jhunjhunwala, M. Lawrence, H. Liu, Y. Wan, V. Chopra, W. Yuan, C. Ha, H. Gilbert, J.Reeder, G. Pau, J. Stinson, H. Stern, G. Manning, T. D. Wu, R. Neve, F. J.de Sauvage, Z. Modrusan, S. Seshagiri, R. Firestein*, and Z. Zhang*. (2014) Integrated exome and transcriptome sequencing reveals ZAK isoform usage in gastric cancer. Nature Communication, 5:3830.

　10.　Mayba, H*. N. Gilbert, J. Liu, P. M. Haverty,  S. Jhunjhunwala, Z. Jiang, C. Watanabe, and Z. Zhang*. (2014) MBASED: allele specific expression detection in cancer tissues and cell lines by MBASED. Genome Biology, 15:405.

　11.　Z. Zhang*. (2012), Genomic landscape of liver cancer. Nature Genetics, 44: 1075-1077.

　12.　J. Liu, W. Lee, Z. Chen, Z. Jiang, S.  Jhunjhunwala, P. M Haverty, F. Gnad, Y. Guan, H. Gilbert, J. Stinson, C. Klijn, J. Guillory, D. Bhatt, S. Vartanian, K. Walter, J. Chan, P.  Dijkgraaf, S. Johnson, J. Koeman, J. Minna, A. Gazdar, H. M. Stern, K. P. Hoeflich, T. D. Wu, F. J. de Sauvage, R. C. Gentleman, R. M. Neve, D.Stokoe, Z. Modrusan, S. Seshagiri, D. S. Shames, and Z. Zhang*. (2012) Genome and transcriptome sequencing of lung cancers reveal diverse mutational and splicing events. Genome Research, 22:2315-2327.

　13.　S. Seshagiri*, E. Stawiski, S. Durinck, Z.  Modrusan, E. Storm, C. B. Conboy, S. Chaudhuri, Y. Guan, V. Janakiraman, B. S. Jaiswal, J. Guillory, C. Ha, G. J. P. Dijkgraaf, J. Stinson, F. Gnad, M. Huntley, J. D. Degenhardt, P. M. Haverty, R. Bourgon, W. Wang, H. Koeppan, R. Gentleman, T. K. Starr, Z. Zhang, D. A. Largaespada, T. D. Wu, and F. J. de Sauvage*. (2012) Recurrent R-spondin fusions in colon cancer. Nature, 488, 660–664.

　14.　Z. Jiang, S. Jhunihunwala, J. Liu, P. Haverty, K. Pant, M. I. Kennemer, P. Carnevali, Y. Guan, J. Stinson, P. Dijkgraaf, J. Rae, S. Johnson, C. Watanabe, J. Diao, S. Kapadia, F. de Sauvage, R. Gentleman, H. Stern, S. Seshagiri, Z. Modrusan, D. Ballinger, and Z. Zhang*. (2012) The effects of hepatitis B virus integration into the  genomes of hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Genome Research, 22:593-601.

　15.　W. Lee, Z. Jiang, J. Liu, P. M. Haverty, Y. Guan, J. Stinson, P. Yue, Y. Zhang, K. P. Pant, D. Bhatt, C. Ha, S. Johnson., M. I. Kennemer, S. Mohan, I. Nazarenko, C. Watanabe, A. B. Sparks, D. S. Shames, R. Gentleman, F. J. de Sauvage, H. Stern, A. Pandita, D. G. Ballinger, R. Drmanac, Z. Modrusan, S. Seshagiri, and Z. Zhang*. (2010) The mutation spectrum revealed by paired genome  sequences from a lung cancer patient. Nature, 465:473-477.