Weizhou Zhang, Ph.D., an accomplished researcher in the fields of breast cancer and cancer immunotherapy, has been appointed co-leader of the UF Health Cancer Center’s Mechanisms of Oncogenesis (MOO) research program.
The MOO research program aims to understand how normal cells undergo complex changes leading to cancer, with an emphasis on epigenetics, RNA cancer biology and the biology of solid tumors prevalent in the Cancer Center’s service area like lung and breast cancer. Zhang, the Dr. and Mrs. James Robert Spencer Professor of Pathology in the UF Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, will co-lead the program with Lizi Wu, Ph.D.
“Dr. Zhang is an extraordinary scientist with a great breadth and depth of understanding of basic mechanisms and cancer biology,” said Jonathan Licht, M.D., director of the UF Health Cancer Center. “He is a consummate collaborator and outstanding cancer research leader. I’m excited to have him take on this new role for the UF Health Cancer Center.”
The MOO research program has 65 researchers across eight UF colleges and has received outstanding ratings from the National Cancer Institute for the depth of its basic science. Members have made fundamental discoveries headed toward clinical development, from revealing how noncoding RNAs in herpesviruses drive tumors, to targeting RNAs using small-molecule drugs, to uncovering how a genetic mutation leads to chemotherapy resistance.
Zhang’s varied research projects and broad collaborations — including basic mechanisms of cancer development, the tumor microenvironment, tumor immunology and drug development for cancer therapy — will allow him to foster collaborations across research teams.
“Taking this leadership role represents a profound responsibility and an exciting opportunity to drive meaningful progress in basic and translational research related to different areas of cancer biology,” Zhang said. “I see it as a chance to encourage innovation, mentor emerging starting scientists and help shape the strategic directions of basic and translational discoveries that could improve cancer care.”
“I see it as a chance to encourage innovation, mentor emerging starting scientists and help shape the strategic directions of basic and translational discoveries that could improve cancer care.” — Weizhou Zhang, Ph.D.
Zhang has been working in the cancer field for 20 years, starting from graduate school at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he studied signaling pathways involved in cancer progression. He continued breast cancer research during his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Diego, where he studied how inflammation impacts cancer.
Zhang ran an independent laboratory at the University of Iowa before joining UF in 2018. His lab focuses on how the immune system controls or promotes cancer and how epithelial cell-intrinsic signaling pathways are altered during cancer development. Recent new directions include the role of DNA repair pathways in cancer therapy. Collaborating with medicinal chemists, he is also developing novel small compounds like PROTACs to target cellular proteins.
At the UF Health Cancer Center, Zhang is a co-leader of the Breast Cancer Working Group. In his new role, Zhang plans to integrate the center’s working groups to enhance collaborations, such as bridging artificial intelligence, breast and lung cancer research. He also plans to restructure pilot funding mechanisms originating from the MOO program, in collaboration with Licht and Rolf Renne, Ph.D., associate director for basic sciences, to ensure alignment with the center’s strategic plan.
Zhang’s short-term goals include building synergy between researchers while clarifying the program’s vision and prioritizing projects with strong potential for grant funding. By continuously recruiting and mentoring emerging investigators, he aims to cultivate a culture of curiosity, rigor and shared purpose.
“Long term, our program will serve as the discovery hub for innovation and groundbreaking science, providing molecular targets for therapy and developing novel treatments to address the burden of cancer,” Zhang said. “Working with the Translational Research Council, I will be fully committed to driving innovative discoveries to the next step and, ultimately, to clinical translation.”
