Dr. Zhang is a physician-scientist in the field of cardiovascular genetics. After completing her medical school in Peking University, she earned her PhD in Molecular Biology and Human Genetics from Johns Hopkins University. She then completed a joint residency fellowship in Internal Medicine and Medical Genetics at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals.

Dr. Zhang began her independent career as a physician-scientist at Baylor College of Medicine.  She discovered that core clock factor REV-ERB is essential for cardiac function and pharmacological activation for REV-ERB can be a therapeutic target for heart failure. This pioneering work was the first indication that the core clock machinery can be targeted for disease therapy. This finding has now been corroborated by other groups and is being actively developed towards clinical use. In 2022, She was honored with the Ron Konopka Memorial Award by the Texas Society for Circadian Biology and Medicine.

Dr. Zhang serves as the Chief of Cardiovascular Genetics Clinics at Baylor College of Medicine.  As a physician-scientist, Dr. Zhang embodies the ultimate mission of “from bedside to bench and back”. Her discovery combining patient natural history study with iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes studies identified folic acid as a treatment to terminate the otherwise lethal recalcitrant ventricular arrhythmias in TANGO2 deficiency disorder. This groundbreaking discovery has led to immediate changes of acute management of these patients during crises and saved lives.

In addition to her research and clinical work, Dr. Zhang is a dedicated educator and mentor. She has trained many young scientists and physicians and is particularly passionate about training the next-generation physician-scientists. She has been awarded the Norton Rose Fulbright faculty excellence award in teaching and education in 2022.