Kang Zhang Explained

Kang Zhang (^[1]) is a Chinese-American ophthalmologist specializing in ophthalmic genetics and aging processes in the eye. He is currently a Professor of the Faculty of Medicine at Macau University of Science and Technology.^[2] He was previously a Professor of Ophthalmology and the Founding Director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Zhang is particularly known for his work on lanosterol, stem cell research (particularly limbal stem cells^[3]), gene editing,^[4] and artificial intelligence.^[5]

Education

Born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, Zhang obtained his B.S. in Biochemistry from Sichuan University in Chengdu, China in 1984. In 1991, Zhang graduated with a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard University. Subsequently, Zhang obtained his M.D. from a Harvard University Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint M.D. Program with magna cum laude honors in 1995.

Career

After completing an ophthalmology residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Zhang became Assistant Staff at the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Zhang completed a retina fellowship at the University of Utah, and afterwards became Assistant Professor at the University of Utah from 2002 to 2006.

In 2013, Zhang, along with Trey Ideker, identified that the molecular aging clock could be measured by blood and tissues, and made use of epigenetic markers.^[6]

In 2014, Zhang, along with Yizhi Liu and Xiangdong Fu, investigated mechanisms and developed a new method of limbal stem cell repair and regeneration.^[3] Zhang has also pioneered the usage of artificial intelligence in diagnosing eye diseases.^[7]

In 2015, Zhang discovered that lanosterol can be used in eyedrop form to help prevent cataracts.^{[8] [9]}

In 2019, Zhang took on a new position at the Faculty of Medicine of Macau University of Science and Technology.^[10]

Awards

Some of Kang Zhang's selected awards are listed below.^[11]

• The Ophthalmologist World 100 Power List (2016, 2018)
• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2016)
• Fellow, Association of American Physicians (2011)
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2011)
• America's Top Ophthalmologists, Consumer's Research Council of America (2011)
• NIH Director's Transformative R01 Program (2010)
• Senior Investigator Award, Research to Prevent Blindness (2010)
• Outstanding Achievement Award, Chinese Ophthalmological Society (2009)
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research (2008)
• Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award, Research to Prevent Blindness (2006)
• Macular Society membership (2006)
• American Society of Clinical Investigation membership (2006)
• Macular Vision Research Award (2002)
• Ruth Steinbach Fund for Macular Degeneration (2001)
• Charles Schepens Award for Excellence in Retina Research (2001)
• Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Clinician Scientist Award (1999)

Professional affiliations

Kang Zhang's professional affiliations are listed below.^[11]

• American Academy of Ophthalmology
• American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• American Society for Clinical Investigation
• American Society of Human Genetics
• Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
• Association of American Physicians
• Macula Society

Selected publications

To date, Zhang has published more than 150 papers. Some selected publications are listed below.^[12]

• Vasireddy V, Jablonski MM, Khan NW, Wang XF, Sahu P, Sparrow JR, Ayyagari R . Elovl4 5-bp deletion knock-in mouse model for Stargardt-like macular degeneration demonstrates accumulation of ELOVL4 and lipofuscin . Exp. Eye Res. . 89 . 6 . 905–12 . December 2009 . 19682985 . 2783393 . 10.1016/j.exer.2009.07.021 .
• Yang Z, Camp NJ, Sun H, Tong Z, Gibbs D, Cameron DJ, Chen H, Zhao Y, Pearson E, Li X, Chien J, Dewan A, Harmon J, Bernstein PS, Shridhar V, Zabriskie NA, Hoh J, Howes K, Zhang K . 19577378 . A variant of the HTRA1 gene increases susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration . Science . 314 . 5801 . 992–3 . November 2006 . 17053109 . 10.1126/science.1133811 . 2006Sci...314..992Y . free .
• Hannum G, Guinney J, Zhao L, Zhang L, Hughes G, Sadda S, Klotzle B, Bibikova M, Fan JB, Gao Y, Deconde R, Chen M, Rajapakse I, Friend S, Ideker T, Zhang K . Genome-wide methylation profiles reveal quantitative views of human aging rates . Mol. Cell . 49 . 2 . 359–367 . January 2013 . 23177740 . 3780611 . 10.1016/j.molcel.2012.10.016 .
• Yu FX, Luo J, Mo JS, Liu G, Kim YC, Meng Z, Zhao L, Peyman G, Ouyang H, Jiang W, Zhao J, Chen X, Zhang L, Wang CY, Bastian BC, Zhang K, Guan KL . Mutant Gq/11 promote uveal melanoma tumorigenesis by activating YAP . Cancer Cell . 25 . 6 . 822–30 . June 2014 . 24882516 . 4075337 . 10.1016/j.ccr.2014.04.017 .
• Liao C, Yin AH, Peng CF, Fu F, Yang JX, Li R, Chen YY, Luo DH, Zhang YL, Ou YM, Li J, Wu J, Mai MQ, Hou R, Wu F, Luo H, Li DZ, Liu HL, Zhang XZ, Zhang K . Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of common aneuploidies by semiconductor sequencing . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 111 . 20 . 7415–20 . May 2014 . 24799683 . 4034209 . 10.1073/pnas.1321997111 . 2014PNAS..111.7415L . free .
• Ouyang H, Xue Y, Lin Y, Zhang X, Xi L, Patel S, Cai H, Luo J, Zhang M, Zhang M, Yang Y, Li G, Li H, Jiang W, Yeh E, Lin J, Pei M, Zhu J, Cao G, Zhang L, Yu B, Chen S, Fu XD, Liu Y, Zhang K . WNT7A and PAX6 define corneal epithelium homeostasis and pathogenesis . Nature . 511 . 7509 . 358–61 . July 2014 . 25030175 . 4610745 . 10.1038/nature13465 . 2014Natur.511..358O .
• Bhisitkul RB, Mendes TS, Rofagha S, Enanoria W, Boyer DS, Sadda SR, Zhang K . Macular atrophy progression and 7-year vision outcomes in subjects from the ANCHOR, MARINA, and HORIZON studies: the SEVEN-UP study . Am. J. Ophthalmol. . 159 . 5 . 915–24.e2 . May 2015 . 25640411 . 10.1016/j.ajo.2015.01.032 .
• Zhao L, Chen XJ, Zhu J, Xi YB, Yang X, Hu LD, Ouyang H, Patel SH, Jin X, Lin D, Wu F, Flagg K, Cai H, Li G, Cao G, Lin Y, Chen D, Wen C, Chung C, Wang Y, Qiu A, Yeh E, Wang W, Hu X, Grob S, Abagyan R, Su Z, Tjondro HC, Zhao XJ, Luo H, Hou R, Jefferson J, Perry P, Gao W, Kozak I, Granet D, Li Y, Sun X, Wang J, Zhang L, Liu Y, Yan YB, Zhang K . 4469138 . Lanosterol reverses protein aggregation in cataracts . Nature . 523 . 7562 . 607–11 . July 2015 . 26200341 . 10.1038/nature14650 . 2015Natur.523..607Z .
• Hu CM, Fang RH, Wang KC, Luk BT, Thamphiwatana S, Dehaini D, Nguyen P, Angsantikul P, Wen CH, Kroll AV, Carpenter C, Ramesh M, Qu V, Patel SH, Zhu J, Shi W, Hofman FM, Chen TC, Gao W, Zhang K, Chien S, Zhang L . Nanoparticle biointerfacing by platelet membrane cloaking . Nature . 526 . 7571 . 118–21 . October 2015 . 26374997 . 4871317 . 10.1038/nature15373 . 2015Natur.526..118H .
• Skowronska-Krawczyk D, Zhao L, Zhu J, Weinreb RN, Cao G, Luo J, Flagg K, Patel S, Wen C, Krupa M, Luo H, Ouyang H, Lin D, Wang W, Li G, Xu Y, Li O, Chung C, Yeh E, Jafari M, Ai M, Zhong Z, Shi W, Zheng L, Krawczyk M, Chen D, Shi C, Zin C, Zhu J, Mellon PL, Gao W, Abagyan R, Zhang L, Sun X, Zhong S, Zhuo Y, Rosenfeld MG, Liu Y, Zhang K . P16INK4a Upregulation Mediated by SIX6 Defines Retinal Ganglion Cell Pathogenesis in Glaucoma . Mol. Cell . 59 . 6 . 931–40 . September 2015 . 26365380 . 4648709 . 10.1016/j.molcel.2015.07.027 .
• Liu Y, Wu F, Lu L, Lin D, Zhang K . Videos in Clinical Medicine: Examination of the Retina . N. Engl. J. Med. . 373 . 8 . e9 . August 2015 . 26287871 . 10.1056/NEJMvcm1308125 .
• Lin H, Ouyang H, Zhu J, Huang S, Liu Z, Chen S, Cao G, Li G, Signer RA, Xu Y, Chung C, Zhang Y, Lin D, Patel S, Wu F, Cai H, Hou J, Wen C, Jafari M, Liu X, Luo L, Zhu J, Qiu A, Hou R, Chen B, Chen J, Granet D, Heichel C, Shang F, Li X, Krawczyk M, Skowronska-Krawczyk D, Wang Y, Shi W, Chen D, Zhong Z, Zhong S, Zhang L, Chen S, Morrison SJ, Maas RL, Zhang K, Liu Y . Lens regeneration using endogenous stem cells with gain of visual function . Nature . 531 . 7594 . 323–8 . March 2016 . 26958831 . 6061995 . 10.1038/nature17181 . 2016Natur.531..323L .
• Suzuki K, Tsunekawa Y, Hernandez-Benitez R, Wu J, Zhu J, Kim EJ, Hatanaka F, Yamamoto M, Araoka T, Li Z, Kurita M, Hishida T, Li M, Aizawa E, Guo S, Chen S, Goebl A, Soligalla RD, Qu J, Jiang T, Fu X, Jafari M, Esteban CR, Berggren WT, Lajara J, Nuñez-Delicado E, Guillen P, Campistol JM, Matsuzaki F, Liu GH, Magistretti P, Zhang K, Callaway EM, Zhang K, Belmonte JC . In vivo genome editing via CRISPR/Cas9 mediated homology-independent targeted integration . Nature . 540 . 7631 . 144–149 . December 2016 . 27851729 . 5331785 . 10.1038/nature20565 . 2016Natur.540..144S .
• Hao X, Luo H, Krawczyk M, Wei W, Wang W, Wang J, Flagg K, Hou J, Zhang H, Yi S, Jafari M, Lin D, Chung C, Caughey BA, Li G, Dhar D, Shi W, Zheng L, Hou R, Zhu J, Zhao L, Fu X, Zhang E, Zhang C, Zhu JK, Karin M, Xu RH, Zhang K . DNA methylation markers for diagnosis and prognosis of common cancers . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 114 . 28 . 7414–7419 . July 2017 . 28652331 . 5514741 . 10.1073/pnas.1703577114 . 2017PNAS..114.7414H . free .
• Xu RH, Wei W, Krawczyk M, Wang W, Luo H, Flagg K, Yi S, Shi W, Quan Q, Li K, Zheng L, Zhang H, Caughey BA, Zhao Q, Hou J, Zhang R, Xu Y, Cai H, Li G, Hou R, Zhong Z, Lin D, Fu X, Zhu J, Duan Y, Yu M, Ying B, Zhang W, Wang J, Zhang E, Zhang C, Li O, Guo R, Carter H, Zhu JK, Hao X, Zhang K . Circulating tumour DNA methylation markers for diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma . Nat Mater . 16 . 11 . 1155–1161 . November 2017 . 29035356 . 10.1038/nmat4997 . 2017NatMa..16.1155X .
• Zhu J, Ming C, Fu X, Duan Y, Hoang DA, Rutgard J, Zhang R, Wang W, Hou R, Zhang D, Zhang E, Zhang C, Hao X, Xiong W, Zhang K . Gene and mutation independent therapy via CRISPR-Cas9 mediated cellular reprogramming in rod photoreceptors . Cell Res. . 27 . 6 . 830–833 . June 2017 . 28429769 . 5518875 . 10.1038/cr.2017.57 .
• Kermany DS, Goldbaum M, Cai W, Valentim C, Liang H, Baxter SL, McKeown A, Yang G, Wu X, Yan F, Dong J, Prasadha MK, Pei J, Ting M, Zhu J, Li C, Hewett S, Dong J, Ziyar I, Shi A, Zhang R, Zheng L, Hou R, Shi W, Fu X, Duan Y, Huu V, Wen C, Zhang ED, Zhang CL, Li O, Wang X, Singer MA, Sun X, Xu J, Tafreshi A, Lewis MA, Xia H, Zhang K . Identifying Medical Diagnoses and Treatable Diseases by Image-Based Deep Learning . Cell . 172 . 5 . 1122–1131.e9 . February 2018 . 29474911 . 10.1016/j.cell.2018.02.010 . free .
• Liang H, Tsui BY, Ni H, Valentim C, Baxter SL, Liu G, Cai W, Kermany DS, Sun X, Chen J, He L, Zhu J, Tian P, Shao H, Zheng L, Hou R, Hewett S, Li G, Liang P, Zang X, Zhang Z, Pan L, Cai H, Ling R, Li S, Cui Y, Tang S, Ye H, Huang X, He W, Liang W, Zhang Q, Jiang J, Yu W, Gao J, Ou W, Deng Y, Hou Q, Wang B, Yao C, Liang Y, Zhang S, Duan Y, Zhang R, Gibson S, Zhang CL, Li O, Zhang ED, Karin G, Nguyen N, Wu X, Wen C, Xu J, Xu W, Wang B, Wang W, Li J, Pizzato B, Bao C, Xiang D, He W, He S, Zhou Y, Haw W, Goldbaum M, Tremoulet A, Hsu CN, Carter H, Zhu L, Zhang K, Xia H . 59945159 . Evaluation and accurate diagnoses of pediatric diseases using artificial intelligence . Nat. Med. . 25 . 3 . 433–438 . March 2019 . 30742121 . 10.1038/s41591-018-0335-9 .
• Lu Y, Zhang K . 3931861 . Cellular Reprogramming in the Retina - Seeing the Light . N. Engl. J. Med. . 378 . 11 . 1059–1060 . March 2018 . 29539280 . 10.1056/NEJMcibr1713887 .
• Xia H, Li X, Gao W, Fu X, Fang FR, Zhang L, Zhang K . 2018 . Tissue repair and regeneration with endogenous stem cells . Nature Reviews Materials. 3 . 7. 174–193 . 10.1038/s41578-018-0027-6 . 2018NatRM...3..174X . free .
• He J, Baxter SL, Xu J, Xu J, Zhou X, Zhang K . The practical implementation of artificial intelligence technologies in medicine . Nat. Med. . 25 . 1 . 30–36 . January 2019 . 30617336 . 10.1038/s41591-018-0307-0 . 6995276 .

External links

• Kang Zhang official website
• Publications on PubMed

Notes and References

1. http://www.jyyxylc.com/Html/4/zjjs/2017-09-26/7680.html Kang Zhang profile
2. Web site: Macau University of Science and Technology Faculty of Medicine. en-US. 2019-09-10.
3. Ouyang H, Xue Y, Lin Y, Zhang X, Xi L, Patel S, Cai H, Luo J, Zhang M, Zhang M, Yang Y, Li G, Li H, Jiang W, Yeh E, Lin J, Pei M, Zhu J, Cao G, Zhang L, Yu B, Chen S, Fu XD, Liu Y, Zhang K . WNT7A and PAX6 define corneal epithelium homeostasis and pathogenesis . Nature . 511 . 7509 . 358–61 . July 2014 . 25030175 . 4610745 . 10.1038/nature13465 . 2014Natur.511..358O .
4. Zhu J, Ming C, Fu X, Duan Y, Hoang DA, Rutgard J, Zhang R, Wang W, Hou R, Zhang D, Zhang E, Zhang C, Hao X, Xiong W, Zhang K . Gene and mutation independent therapy via CRISPR-Cas9 mediated cellular reprogramming in rod photoreceptors . Cell Res. . 27 . 6 . 830–833 . June 2017 . 28429769 . 5518875 . 10.1038/cr.2017.57 .
5. Kermany DS, Goldbaum M, Cai W, Valentim C, Liang H, Baxter SL, McKeown A, Yang G, Wu X, Yan F, Dong J, Prasadha MK, Pei J, Ting M, Zhu J, Li C, Hewett S, Dong J, Ziyar I, Shi A, Zhang R, Zheng L, Hou R, Shi W, Fu X, Duan Y, Huu V, Wen C, Zhang ED, Zhang CL, Li O, Wang X, Singer MA, Sun X, Xu J, Tafreshi A, Lewis MA, Xia H, Zhang K . Identifying Medical Diagnoses and Treatable Diseases by Image-Based Deep Learning . Cell . 172 . 5 . 1122–1131.e9 . February 2018 . 29474911 . 10.1016/j.cell.2018.02.010 . free .
6. News: Searching for Meaningful Markers of Aging. New York Times. David. Stipp. Jul 22, 2013. Apr 23, 2019.
7. News: Serious eye diseases accurately diagnosed through artificial intelligence. San Diego Union-Tribune. Bradley J.. Fikes. Feb 26, 2018. Apr 23, 2019.
8. News: Genetics study points toward eyedrop treatment for cataracts. Los Angeles Times. Eryn. Brown. Jul 22, 2015. Apr 23, 2019.
9. Ling Zhao . Xiang-Jun Chen . Jie Zhu . Yi-Bo Xi . Xu Yang . Li-Dan Hu . Hong Ouyang . Sherrina H. Patel . Xin Jin . Danni Lin . Frances Wu . Ken Flagg . Huimin Cai . Gen Li . Guiqun Cao . Ying Lin . Daniel Chen . Cindy Wen . Christopher Chung . Yandong Wang . Austin Qiu . Emily Yeh . Wenqiu Wang . Xun Hu . Seanna Grob . Lanosterol reverses protein aggregation in cataracts . Nature . 523 . 7562 . 607–611 . July 2015 . 10.1038/nature14650 . 26200341 . 2015Natur.523..607Z . 4469138 . etal.
10. Web site: Kang Zhang curriculum vitae. 2019. en-US. 2019-09-10.
11. http://shileyeye.ucsd.edu/CV/Zhang_Kang_CV_Oct_2015.pdf Kang Zhang awards and publications
12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Zhang+Kang Kang Zhang publications on PubMed