Her research focuses on biomarker discoveries/selections and predictive modeling using statistical and bioinformatics method based on genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics data, particularly in cancer stemness, cancer immunology, and cancer metabolic reprogramming that leads to tumor metastasis and drug resistance. Besides her research, Dr. Zhang has over 16 years of extensive experience in collaborative research as a team scientist. She is actively involved in collaborative work on a broad range of biomedical research areas, mainly in the field of cancer research, microbial infection, and immunity. Because of her overarching achievements in obtaining extramural funding and publishing in high impact journals, she was recognized by the department as the awardee of the inaugural BMI “Award for Excellence in Collaborative Research” in 2020.