Liangfang Zhang

Liangfang Zhang
Born
Wuwei County, China
SpouseLili Xie
Academic background
EducationBSc, 2000, MSc, 2002, Tsinghua University
PhD, chemical and biomolecular engineering, 2006, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
ThesisPolymers, nanoparticles and phospholipids (2006)
Academic advisorsSteve Granick
Robert S. Langer
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of California, San Diego
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Liangfang Zhang is a Chinese-American nanoengineer. He is the Chancellor Professor of Nanoengineering and Bioengineering and Director of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. Zhang is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Academy of Inventors.

Early life and education

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Zhang was born in Wuwei County, China[1] and began attending university at the age of 15.[2] He completed his Bachelor of Science and Master's degree in chemical engineering from Tsinghua University before moving to the United States and enrolling at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for his PhD.[3] While attending Tsinghua, Zhang helped create a tough rubber polymer that could be used in construction engineering.[4] As a PhD candidate, Zhang worked with Steve Granick to turn nanoparticles into biocompatible capsules. This way of stabilizing lipids enabled them to be used in drug delivery, colloidal-based biosensors, and enzyme-catalyzed reactions.[5] Zhang later credited Granick and Robert S. Langer for inspiring his "current career path" through their "very distinct trainings."[4]

Career

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Following his PhD, Zhang became a postdoctoral associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before joining the Department of Nanoengineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) as an assistant professor in 2008.[6] As an assistant professor, Zhang's research team became the first to combine the natural cell membrane with a synthetic nanoparticle for drug delivery applications. In 2011, he oversaw a study which developed a drug delivery system that mimiced the body's natural behavior for more effective drug delivery. They found that a biodegradable polymer nanoparticle filled with small molecule drugs and red blood cell membrane could circulate in the bodies of mice for nearly two days. By disguising the drug in red blood cell membrane, the drugs could evade the body's immune system and deliver cancer-fighting drugs straight to a tumor.[7][8] Following this discovery, Zhang also used nanoparticles in vaccines to enable immune systems to block the adverse effects of the alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA.[9] His research was recognized with the American Chemical Society's (ACS) 2012 Colloid and Surface Division Unilever Award.[10] He was also recognized by the MIT Technology Review as being among the top young innovators under the age of 35 of 2013. He was specifically recognized for his technology for cloaking nanoparticles in natural red blood cell membranes.[2] The following year, Zhang received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Allan P. Colburn Award for Excellence in Publications by a Young Member of the Institute for "outstanding contributions to biomimetic nanomaterials for drug delivery to improve the treatments of cancers and infectious diseases."[11]

In March 2015, Zhang was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering for "outstanding contributions to creating and advancing biomimetic nanomaterials for drug delivery to improve treatment of cancers and infectious diseases."[12] Later that year, he designed nanoparticles disguised as human platelets to deliver drugs to targeted sites in the body. His research team demonstrated that by delivering the drugs just to the areas where the drugs were needed, the nanoparticles greatly increased the therapeutic effects of drugs that were administered to diseased rats and mice.[13] Zhang was later recognized by Popular Science as being one of the 10 most brilliant people of 2016.[14] In 2017, Zhang was part of a group of UCSD nanoengineers who were the first to use micromotors to treat a bacterial infection in the stomach. By placing micromotors throughout the stomach, they neutralized gastric acid and then released their cargo of antibiotics at the desired pH.[15] As a result, Zhang was selected as the United States nominee for the APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE)[16] and received the 2017 Kabiller Young Investigator Award from Northwestern University.[17] The following year, Zhang was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for "his revolutionary work in the field of nanomedicine, which focuses on nanomaterials for medical applications."[18]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhang's laboratory began using his biomimetic nanosponge to fight the novel coronavirus. He believed that the nanosponge cloaked with fragments of the outer membranes of macrophages could soak up inflammatory cytokine proteins, which are implicated in some of the most dangerous aspects of COVID-19.[19][20] Zhang's Cellics Therapeutics later received an award from the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator to develop a macrophage cellular nanosponge in order to treat sepsis.[21] In December 2020, Zhang was recognised as being among the world's most influential researcher in his field from the Web of Science group.[22] He was also elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors for his "revolutionary work in the field of nanomedicine."[23] In 2021, Zhang won the Journal of Nanobiotechnology Trailblazer Award "for outstanding contributions to creating and advancing biomimetic nanotechnologies for drug delivery and biological neutralization to improve human health."[24]

Personal life

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Zhang and his wife Lili Xie, an economist, have two daughters together.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Robbins, Gary (November 14, 2011). "Rolling out Trojan horse to fight cancer" (PDF). The San Diego Union-Tribune. pp. 1–2. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Bourzac, Katherine (2013). "Liangfang Zhang". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "UCSD NanoEngineering Faculty: Liangfang Zhang". University of California, San Diego. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Pocock, Jennifer (February 2020). "Small-scale, Big Success". American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  5. ^ "Nanoparticles Create Biocompatible Capsules". Science Daily. March 8, 2006. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  6. ^ "Liangfang Zhang". American Institute of Chemical Engineers. 30 March 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Hu, Che-Ming J.; Zhang, Li; Aryal, Santosh; Zhang, Liangfang (June 20, 2011). "Erythrocyte membrane-camouflaged polymeric nanoparticles as a biomimetic delivery platform". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (27): 10980–10985. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10810980H. doi:10.1073/pnas.1106634108. PMC 3131364. PMID 21690347.
  8. ^ "Nanoparticles disguised as red blood cells to deliver cancer-fighting drugs". Science Daily. June 30, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "'Nanosponge vaccine' fights MRSA toxins". Science Daily. December 1, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  10. ^ "Nanoegineer Liangfang Zhang Wins American Chemical Society Unilever Award for 2012". University of California, San Diego. March 28, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  11. ^ "Liangfang Zhang Receives Allan P. Colburn Award From AICHE". University of California, San Diego. July 24, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "Liangfang Zhang, Ph.D. To be Inducted into Medical and Biological Engineering Elite" (PDF). American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. March 5, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  13. ^ "Targeted Drug Delivery With These Nanoparticles Can Make Medicines More Effective". University of California, San Diego. September 16, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  14. ^ Greenwood, Veronique; Willyard, Cassandra (August 11, 2016). "The Man Who Smuggles Nanodrugs Past The Body's Defenses". Popular Science. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  15. ^ "Drug-Delivering Micromotors Treat Their First Bacterial Infection In The Stomach". University of California, San Diego. August 16, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Labios, Liezel (April 25, 2017). "UC San Diego Nanoengineer Selected as the U.S. Nominee for 2017 ASPIRE Prize". University of California, San Diego. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  17. ^ "Liangfang Zhang: 2017 Kabiller Young Investigator Award". Northwestern University. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  18. ^ "Seven UC San Diego Professors Named AAAS Fellows". University of California, San Diego. November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  19. ^ "Nanosponges Could Intercept Coronavirus Infection". University of California, San Diego. June 17, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  20. ^ Zhang, Qiangzhe; Honko, Anna; Zhou, Jiarong; Gong, Hua; Downs, Sierra N.; Vasquez, Jhonatan Henao; Fang, Ronnie H.; Gao, Weiwei; Griffiths, Anthony; Zhang, Liangfang (June 17, 2020). "Cellular Nanosponges Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity". Nano Letters. 20 (7): 5570–5574. Bibcode:2020NanoL..20.5570Z. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c02278. PMC 7301960. PMID 32551679.
  21. ^ Labios, Liezel (October 21, 2020). "Start-up Receives up to $15 M to Develop Nanoparticle Therapy for Sepsis Licensed from UC San Diego". University of California, San Diego. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  22. ^ "10 Jacobs School Faculty Named In 2020 List Of Highly Cited Resarcheres". University of California, San Diego. December 8, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  23. ^ "UC San Diego Nanoengineer Liangfang Zhang Inducted Into National Academy of Inventors". University of California, San Diego. December 8, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  24. ^ "Journal of Nanobiotechnology Trailblazer Award 2021". Journal of Nanobiotechnology. 2021. Archived from the original on July 22, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
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