Donna D Zhang, PhD

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Analytical Chemistry Shared ResourceBioinformatics Shared ResourceCancer Imaging Shared ResourceFlow Cytometry Shared ResourceTissue Acquisition Cellular and Molecular Analysis Shared Resource
Biography
Donna D. Zhang received her Ph.D. from New York University in 1997. After a brief postdoctoral fellowship at the DuPont-Haskell Laboratory, she joined the University of Arizona as an Assistant Professor in 2005 where she is currently a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Zhang’s research program focuses on investigating the key physiological and pathological roles of the Nrf2-Keap1-ARE signaling pathway in mediating disease. She has published over 130 well-received papers as evidenced by her total citations (20597) and h-index (57). Dr. Zhang has made seminal contributions to both the mechanistic understanding of Nrf2 regulation and the role of Nrf2 in human diseases.
Cancer Focus
Projects with cancer focus includes Nrf2 regulation and the role of NRF2 in cancer (lung, colon, liver and skin), utilizing many gene-specific knockout mice or transgenic mice/cell lines. One exciting area of research is screening/developing drugs that target Nrf2 for cancer prevention/intervention. The Zhang team has discovered many small-molecules that activate Nrf2 and are effective for chemoprevention. On the other hand, the lab is investigating the “darkside” of Nrf2 in cancer. Her group demonstrated that hyperactivation of Nrf2 also contributes to chemoresistance, cancer progression and metastasis. Therefore, the team is currently developing Nrf2 inhibitors with the hope that someday these compounds will be used therapeutically to improve cancer treatment.
Selected Publications
Dodson, M., M. Rojo de la Vega, A. B. Cholanians, C. J. Schmidlin, E. Chapman, and D. D. Zhang, "Modulating NRF2 in Disease: Timing Is Everything.", Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol, vol. 59, pp. 555-575, 2019 Jan 06. PMID: 30256716
Dodson, M., P. Liu, T. Jiang, A. J. Ambrose, G. Luo, M. Rojo de la Vega, A. B. Cholanians, P. Kin Wong, E. Chapman, and D. D. Zhang, "Increased O-GlcNAcylation of SNAP29 drives arsenic-induced autophagic dysfunction.", Mol Cell Biol, 2018 Mar 05. PMCID: PMC5954189 PMID: 29507186
de la Vega, M. Rojo, E. Chapman, and D. D. Zhang, "NRF2 and the Hallmarks of Cancer.", Cancer Cell, vol. 34, issue 1, pp. 21-43, 2018 Jul 09. PMCID: PMC6039250 PMID: 29731393
Tillotson, J., M. Kedzior, L. Guimarães, A. B. Ross, T. L. Peters, A. J. Ambrose, C. J. Schmidlin, D. D. Zhang, L. V. Costa-Lotufo, A. D. Rodríguez, et al., "ATP-competitive, marine derived natural products that target the DEAD box helicase, eIF4A.", Bioorg Med Chem Lett, vol. 27, issue 17, pp. 4082-4085, 2017 09 01. PMCID: PMC5593424 PMID: 28757063
Stockwell, B. R., J. Pedro Frie Angeli, H. Bayir, A. I. Bush, M. Conrad, S. J. Dixon, S. Fulda, S. Gascón, S. K. Hatzios, V. E. Kagan, et al., "Ferroptosis: A Regulated Cell Death Nexus Linking Metabolism, Redox Biology, and Disease.", Cell, vol. 171, issue 2, pp. 273-285, 2017 Oct 05. PMCID: PMC5685180 PMID: 28985560
Tao, S., S. Wang, S. Javad Moghaddam, A. Ooi, E. Chapman, P. K. Wong, and D. D. Zhang, "Oncogenic KRAS confers chemoresistance by upregulating NRF2.", Cancer Res, vol. 74, issue 24, pp. 7430-41, 2014 Dec 15. PMCID: PMC4268230 PMID: 25339352