News

2024

April

Logan was awarded an Honors College Research Grant to study energy propagation during collective cell migration! Congrats!
Chloe's poster on the bioenergetic regulation of cancer cell migration mode won Fourth Place in the 2024 U of A Undergraduate Research Symposium. Congrats!

2023

December

The Zhang Lab celebrated a thriving 2023 with delicious Thai food!

Chloe was awarded an Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) Grant to conduct research in the Zhang Lab regarding the bioenergetic regulation of cancer cell migration mode! Congratulations!

September

We welcome Yasiel to join the Zhang lab!

August

We welcome four new members to join the Zhang lab: Seth, Ben, Chloe, and Daphine! The Zhang lab is growing!

July

Dr. Zhang was awarded an NIH/NIBIB Trailblazer Award to sort cells based on their mechanical phenotypes and characterize the role of cellular mechanical phenotype in disease (e.g. cancer) progression and development. Congrats! [Read the news]
Dr. Zhang was awarded a Chancellor’s Innovation and Collaboration Fund to develop a high throughput platform for mechanical cell sorting in collaboration with Dr. Wan Shou. Congrats!

June

Our paper on cancer-associated fibroblasts transferring mitochondria to cancer cells to promote their migration in 3D was accepted for publication in the Journal of Cell Science. Congrats!

May

Dr. Zhang was awarded an AIMRC Pilot fund to conduct research on the mechano-metabolism of tumor clusters. Congrats!

March

Our big toy is up and running! Got to do more with it!

January

Our book chapter article on the topic of energetics in 3D cell migration is now available online! Make sure you check it out!

2022

December

Dr. Zhang was nominated by the University of Arkansas as one of the only two representatives to apply for the 2023 ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards Program. Congrats!

October

Jian attended the BMES Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX and the SES Technical Meeting in College Station TX back to back. Good science and good friends there! Brought a basket of new ideas back!

Jian was recognized with the Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center (TFSC) Rapport Badge.

We now have a lab logo!

September

We welcome four new undergraduate members to join the Zhang Lab: Logan, Sarah, Juan, and Brock!
The Zhang Lab at the U of A was awarded an NIGMS R21 award to develop quantitative tools to study the mechanics of collective migration in cancer and morphogenesis. Congrats!
Jian's 2019 PNAS paper won the 2022 Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) High Impact Paper Award!
We are hiring! We have 2-3 openings for graduate students, research assistants, and postdoctoral fellows. Motivated undergraduates are always welcome to join the lab. Please visit the Open Positions page to learn more on how to apply.

August

The Zhang Lab - Cell Biophysics Laboratory officially opened at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville!

Archive

Jul 2022 Jian's second R21 grant application (NIH/NIGMS) has been recommended for funding. Congrats!
Feb 2022 Jian's book chapter article on the topic of energetics in 3D cell migration was accepted by Methods in Molecular Biology. Congrats!
Nov 2021 Jian's first R21 grant application (NIH/NCI) received a percentile of 7% and is likely to be funded. Congrats!
Nov 2021 Emily's first review paper in the Reinhart-King lab on the topic of breast density in tumor progression, completed under my supervision, was accepted by Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering. Congrats!
Oct 2021 Jian presented his most recent studies at the 2021 BMES Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL!
Apr 2021 Jian's review paper with Matt on mechanoresponsive metabolism in cancer cell migration was accepted by the journal Cell Metabolism!
Nov 2020 Jian is on the market for a faculty position in biomedical engineering and related field.
Nov 2020 After being out of the lab for 11 months in China due to the COIVD-19 pandemic, Jian returned to the bench!
Oct 2020 Jian gave two oral presentations at the 2020 BMES Virtual Annual Meeting. Note that this year only ~ 160 oral presentations were selected due to the virtual format.
June 2020 Jian wrote a preview paper in the journal Cancer Cell, discussing the potential of mechanomedicine in cancer therapy.
December 2019 Jian's review paper on methods measuring 3D cellular and tissue mechanics at the microscale was published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. [Read the article]
October 2019 Jian presented his most recent studies at the 2019 BMES Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA!
May 2019 Jian presented his research at the 2019 VICC Scientific Retreat, and won the Second Place Prize for poster presentation.
April 2019 Jian presented his research at the 2019 VPA Symposium, and received the Best Talk Award!
March 2019 Jian's latest research combining physics and cancer biology was accepted by PNAS, showing that cancer cells employ relay-like collective behavior to conserve energy! Yes, cell behaviors do follow physical laws, just like anything else! Yes, cells do know how to minimize energy costs, just like anything else! [Read the article] [Read the news highlight]
December 2018 Jian presented his latest research at the 2018 ASCB | EMBO Meeting in San Diego, CA!
November 2018 Jian's research was highlighted as the Cover Image of the Nov 1, 2018 Issue of MBoC!
October 2018 Jian presented his most recent studies at the 2018 BMES Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA!
June 2018 Jian was named the recipient of the 2018 MBoC Paper of the Year Award for the article "Centrosome defines the rear of cells during mesenchymal migration" and was invited to give a talk at the 2018 ASCB | EMBO Meeting in San Diego, CA. Congratulations!
October 2017 Jian attended the 2017 BMES Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ!
August 2017 Jian's paper that clarified a long-standing controversy in cell biology about the role of the centrosome in directional migration was accepted and highlighted by MBoC!
August 4, 2017 Jian presented his research at 2017 Nashville Biomaterials Day event!
January 2017 Jian is working on a project studying the biophysics of cancer collective invasion.
January 1, 2017 Jian joined the Reinhart-King Lab at Vanderbilt University as a post-doc scholar!

Media Highlights

Biomedical Engineering Professor Awarded NIH Trailblazer AwardThis $580,000 award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering will provide three years of independent research funding in support of assistant professor Jian Zhang's work.

Like racecars and geese, cancer cells draft their way to new tumor sitesThe finding gives a boost to the field of metabolomics, the next big thing in fighting cancer. It can complement immunotherapies, which use the body’s natural defenses to kill cancer cells.

Jian Zhang to Receive MBoC Paper of the Year Award - ASCBJian Zhang was named by the Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC) Editorial Board as recipient of the 27th annual MBoC Paper of the Year Award. As a graduate student in Yu-Li Wang’s lab at Carnegie Mellon University, Zhang was first author of the article “Centrosome defines the rear of cells during mesenchymal migration” (Mol.…

Going places: Microtubule-mediated transport of inhibitory signals critical in stabilizing cell migration polarity(Phys.org)—Microtubules – tubular polymers of tubulin (a globular protein) that are a component of the cytoskeleton found throughout cell cytoplasm – are involved in a range of cellular functions, including the movement of secretory vesicles, organelles, and intracellular substances; cell division (mitosis and meiosis), including the formation of mitotic spindles; and cell polarity, which refers to spatial differences in cellular shape, structure and function. However, the nature of the role of microtubules in cell polarity has yet to be clarified. At the same time, cell migration plays an essential role in many important physiological processes, such as embryogenesis, wound healing, and immune responses; in engineering applications such as tissue regeneration; and, when defective, in causing severe problems such as birth defects, vascular disease and tumor metastasis. A key area for investigation in the linkage between cell polarity and cell migration is that directional cell migration requires a defined polarity, generated by an integrated network of signals, adhesions (the protein-based binding of a cell to a surface or substrate) and cytoskeleton.