Dr. Min Zhang is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her Ph.D. in bioinformatics from Harbin Medical University. She joined FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research as an ORISE fellow to work on computational toxicology. She later joined MD Anderson Cancer Center to continue her postdoctoral training in cancer immunotherapy and precision medicine. Dr. Zhang’s research spans bioinformatics, pharmacogenomics, and computational toxicology. Her work focuses on developing computational tools and integrating multi-omics data to advance cancer precision medicine and predict adverse drug reactions. Through these efforts, she aims to translate complex genomic data into actionable insights that drive safer, more effective, and personalized treatments for patients. Dr. Zhang’s work has resulted in the publication of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles on high-impact journals such as Bioinformatics, Chemical Research in Toxicology, Frontiers in Pharmacology, Toxicological Sciences, Science Advances and Nature Communications.
- PhD
Education & Training
Pharmacogenetics
1. Wang X, Wang Z, Li S, Pattarayan D, Wang Y, Zhai J, Zhang Y, Wang H, Xu M, Zhu J, Wang J, Ma X, Mani S, Xie W, Zhang M#, Yang D#. “PXR regulates glucose metabolism by binding mRNAs and modulating their stability”. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 2025 (In Press, #: Co-Corresponding author).
2. Zhao Y, Park JY, Yang D, Zhang M#, “A computational framework to in silico screen for drug-induced hepatocellular toxicity”. Toxicological Sciences. 2024 Sep 1;201(1):14-25. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae078. (#: Corresponding author).
3. Xu P, Xi Y, Kim JW, Zhu J, Zhang M, Xu M, Ren S, Yang D, Ma X, Xie W. “Sulfation of chondroitin and bile acids converges to antagonize Wnt/β-catenin signaling and inhibit APC deficiency-induced gut tumorigenesis”. Acta Pharm Sin B. 2024 Mar;14(3):1241-1256. doi: 10.1016/j.apsb.2023.12.006. Epub 2023 Dec 16.
4. Wang Y, Zhao Y, Guo W, Yadav G, Bhaskarla C, Wang Z, Wang X, Li S, Wang Y, Chen Y, Pattarayan D, Xie W, Li S, Lu B, Kammula U, Zhang M#, Yang D#. “Genome-wide gain-of-function screening characterized lncRNA regulators for tumor immune response.” Sci Adv. 2022 Dec 9;8(49):eadd0005. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.add0005. Epub 2022 Dec 7. (#: Co-Corresponding author)
5. Zhao Y, Wang Y, Yang D, Suh K, Zhang M#. “A computational framework to characterize the cancer drug induced effect on aging using transcriptomic data.” Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2022 Jun 29;13:906429. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.906429. eCollection 2022. (#: Corresponding author).
6. Xu P, Xi Y, Zhu J, Zhang M, Luka Z, Stolz DB, Cai X, Xie Y, Xu M, Ren S, Huang Z, Yang D, York JD, Ma X, Xie W. “Intestinal Sulfation Is Essential to Protect Against Colitis and Colonic Carcinogenesis.” Gastroenterology. 2021 Jul;161(1):271-286.e11. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2021.03.048.
7. Wang Y, Zhang M, Wang Z, Guo W, Yang D. “MYC-binding lncRNA EPIC1 promotes AKT-mTORC1 signaling and rapamycin resistance in breast and ovarian cancer.” Mol Carcinog. 2020 Oct;59(10):1188-1198. doi: 10.1002/mc.23248.
8. Wu Z, Li S, Tang X, Wang Y, Guo W, Cao G, Chen K, Zhang M#, Guan M#, Yang D#. “Copy Number Amplification of DNA Damage Repair Pathways Potentiates Therapeutic Resistance in Cancer.” Theranostics. 2020;10(9):3939-3951. doi: 10.7150/thno.39341. (#: Co-Corresponding author)
9. Wang Y, Wang Z, Xu J, Li J, Li S, Zhang M#, Yang D#. “Systematic Identification of Non-coding Pharmacogenomic Landscape in Cancer”. Nature Communications. 2018 Aug 9; 9(1):3192. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-05495-9. (#: Co-Corresponding author)
10. McKenzie JA, Mbofung RM, Malu S, Zhang M, et al. “The Effect of Topoisomerase I Inhibitors on the Efficacy of T-Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapy”. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2018 Jul 1;110(7):777-786. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djx257.
11. Wang Z, Yang B, Zhang M, Guo W, Wu Z, Wang Y, Jia L, Li S; Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network, Xie W, Yang D. “lncRNA Epigenetic Landscape Analysis Identifies EPIC1 as an Oncogenic lncRNA that Interacts with MYC and Promotes Cell-Cycle Progression in Cancer”. Cancer Cell. 2018 Apr 9;33(4):706-720.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2018.03.006.33.
12. Mbofung RM, McKenzie JA, Malu S, Zhang M, et al. “HSP90 inhibition enhances cancer immunotherapy by upregulating interferon response genes”. Nature Communications. 2017 Sep 6;8(1):451. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00449-z.
13. Zhang M, Liu G, Xue F, et al. “Copy number deletion of RAD50 as predictive marker of BRCAness and PARP inhibitor response in BRCA wild type ovarian cancer”. Gynecologic Oncology. 2016 April, 141(1): 57–64. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2016.01.004.
14. Westin J, Chu F, Zhang M, et al. “Safety and Activity of Programmed Death-1 Blockade by Pidilizumab in Combination with Rituximab in Patients with Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma: a Phase II Trial”. The Lancet Oncology. 2014, 15(1): 69-77.
15. Rawal S, Chu F, Zhang M, et al. “Cross talk between follicular helper T cells and tumor cells in human follicular lymphoma promotes immune evasion in the tumor microenvironment”. The Journal of Immunology. 2013, 190(12): 6681-6693.
16. Zhang M, Chen M, Tong W. “Is Toxicogenomics a More Reliable and Sensitive Biomarker than Conventional Indicators from Rats To Predict Drug-Induced Liver Injury in Humans”. Chemical Research in Toxicology. 2012, 25(1): 122-129.
17. Chen M, Zhang M, Borlak J, Tong W. “A Decade of Toxicogenomic Research and Its Contribution to Toxicological Science”. Toxicological Sciences. 2012, 130(2): 217-228.
18. MAQC Consortium (including Zhang M). “The MicroArray Quality Control (MAQC)-II study of common practices for the development and validation of microarray-based predictive models”. Nature Biotechnology. 2010, 28(8): 827-838.
19. Zhang M, Zhang L, Zou J, et al. “Evaluating reproducibility of differential expression discoveries in microarray studies by considering correlated molecular changes”. Bioinformatics. 2009, 25(13): 1662-1668.
20. Zhang M, Yao C, Guo Z, et al. “Apparently low reproducibility of true differential expression discoveries in microarray studies”. Bioinformatics. 2008, 24(18): 2057-2063.
