Education
PhD, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
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Research Biography
 

The Zhang laboratory studies the disease mechanism of enteric bacteria and develops vaccines against diarrheal disease, with the main focus on enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), Shigella, and cholera.  ETEC and Shigella are the leading cause of children’s diarrhea and travelers’ diarrhea and the significant risk of antibiotic resistance, and cholera remains a major threat to public health.  ETEC is also a predominant cause of diarrhea in young animals, particularly newly weaned pigs.  The development of effective vaccines against these enteric bacteria is the top priority for the World Health Organization (WHO), the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), and many other public health institutes.  
Applying isogenic strains and animal models, the research team determines the significance of individual virulence factors and identifies virulence determinants, then targets virulence determinants as antigens for the development of precision vaccines.
Collaborating with world-class scientists, the group combines the epitope vaccine concept and the structure vaccine concept and has developed a novel epitope- and structure-based vaccinology platform to develop protein-based safe and cross-protective vaccines (multivalent vaccines and combination vaccines) against heterogeneous strains or different diseases.
The laboratory develops different animal models to study disease mechanisms and to evaluate vaccine pre-clinical efficacy.  Animal models routinely used in the laboratory include pig (conventional as well as germ-free), mouse, and rabbit (adult model, pregnant model, and infant passive or active model).
His research program has been well-funded by NIH, USDA-NIFA, and private funding agencies including PATH.
The laboratory currently accepts applications for postdoc research associates and PhD-level graduate students.