Jun Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.

Professional Background

Jun Zhang, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist, principal investigator, and board-certified internist and medical oncologist. Dr. Zhang earned his medical degree from Xiang-Ya School of Medicine, Central South University in China, a PhD in Cancer Biology from LSU, completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Harvard Medical School and UCSF, and a Hematology/Oncology fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. Passionate about frontier scientific discoveries, Dr. Zhang possesses extensive expertise in bench-to-bedside translation and the development of investigator-initiated clinical trials. He has authored over 100 publications, including articles in high-impact journals such as Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Molecular Cancer, Annals of Oncology, JAMA Oncology, Cancer Cell, and New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Zhang is a member of prestigious organizations, including AACR, ASCO, ESMO, IASLC, RSM, and CAHON, where he also served as the Committee Co-chair of Clinical Research.

His research interests encompass the following broad areas:
1) The role of microbiota in the oncogenesis, immune modulation, and immunotherapy of lung cancer.
2) Resistant mechanisms in targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer harboring driver mutations.
3) Development of innovative interventional and translational trials for various thoracic malignancies.

Currently, he serves as the co-Director of the Lung Cancer Program and Associate Director of the Early Phase Program at the University of Kansas Comprehensive Cancer Center (KUCC). Dr. Zhang plays a vital role in leading a multidisciplinary team in both research and patient care for Thoracic Oncology at KUCC.

• MD, Clinical Medicine, Hunan Medical University (present: Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University), Hunan
• PhD, Cellular Biology & Anatomy, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, LA
• Residency, Internal Medicine and Pulmonology , Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Cancer Biology, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, LA
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Cancer Biology, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA
• Residency, Internal Medicine, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
• Clinical Fellowship, Hematology & Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA

• Internal Medicine , American Board of Internal Medicine
• Kansas license for Medical Doctor, Kansas State Board of Healing Arts
• Medical Oncology, American Board of Internal Medicine
• Missouri license for physicians and surgeon, Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts

• The Royal Society of Medicine , Member, 2022 - Present
• European Society for Medical Oncology, Member, 2020 - Present
• Chinese American Hematologist and Oncologist Network, Member, 2019 - Present
• Chinese American Hematologist and Oncologist Network, Clinical Research, Co-Chair, 2019 - 2020
• International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, Member, 2016 - Present
• American Society of Clinical Oncology, Member, 2012 - Present
• American College of Physician, Member, 2009 - Present

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• A multi-center phase II study of combining cabozantinib and atezolizumab as the 1st line therapy for PD-L1 negative advanced/metastatic NSCLC (Cabatezo-1), Exelixis and Genentech/Roche, PI
• Using ex vivo tumoroids to predict immunotherapy response in NSCLC (TUMORIN), Nilogen Oncosystems, PI
• A multi-center phase II study of ipatasertib in combination with docetaxel in metastatic/advanced NSCLC patients who have failed or are intolerant to 1st line immunotherapy (Ipat-Lung), Genentech/Roche, PI
• Using microbiome to predict durvalumab toxicity in post-CCRT NSCLC patients (Microdurva), AstraZeneca, PI
• A phase 3, randomized, open-label study of the efficacy and safety of pyrotinib versus docetaxel in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring a HER2 exon 20 mutation who progressed on or after treated with platinum-based chemotherapy with/without immune checkpoint inhibitors (PYRAMID-1), Hengrui Therapeutics, PI
• Phase 1/1b study investigating safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary antitumor activity of anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody BGB-A1217 in combination with anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody tislelizumab (BGB-A317) in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors, BeiGene, PI
• A phase 2 trial of combination therapies with adagrasib in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer with KRAS G12C mutation (KRYSTAL-17), Mirati Therapeutics, PI

• Takahashi, N, Hao, Z, Villaruz, L., C, Zhang, J, Ruiz, J, Petty, W., J, Mamdani, H, Riess, J., W, Nieva, J, Pachecho, J., M, Fuld, A., D, Shum, E, Chauhan, A, Nichols, S, Shimellis, H, McGlone, J, Sciuto, L, Pinkiert, D, Graham, C, Shelat, M, Kattappuram, R, Abel, M, Schroeder, B, Upadhyay, D, Krishnamurthy, M, Sharma, A., K, Kumar, R, Malin, J, Schultz, C., W, Goyal, S, Redon, C., E, Pommier, Y, Aladjem, M., I, Gore, S., D, Steinberg, S., M, Vilimas, R, Desai, P, Thomas, A. 2023. Berzosertib Plus Topotecan vs Topotecan Alone in Patients With Relapsed Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial.. JAMA oncology, 9 (12), 1669-1677
• Jänne, P., A, Riely, G., J, Gadgeel, S., M, Heist, R., S, Ou, S., I, Pacheco, J., M, Johnson, M., L, Sabari, J., K, Leventakos, K, Yau, E, Bazhenova, L, Negrao, M., V, Pennell, N., A, Zhang, J, Anderes, K, Der-Torossian, H, Kheoh, T, Velastegui, K, Yan, X, Christensen, J., G, Chao, R., C, Spira, A., I. 2022. Adagrasib in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Harboring a KRAS(G12C) Mutation.. The New England journal of medicine, 387 (2), 120-131
• Zhang, J, Johnson, M, Barve, M, Bazhenova, L, McCarthy, M, Schwartz, R, Horvath-Walsh, E, Velastegui, K, Qian, C, Spira, A. 2023. Practical Guidance for the Management of Adverse Events in Patients with KRASG12C-Mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Receiving Adagrasib.. The oncologist, 28 (4), 287-296
• Liu, B, Chau, J, Dai, Q, Zhong, C, Zhang, J. 2022. Exploring Gut Microbiome in Predicting the Efficacy of Immunotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.. Cancers, 14 (21)
• Khan, Q., J, Bivona, C., R, Martin, G., A, Zhang, J, Liu, B, He, J, Li , K., H, Nelson, M, Williamson, S, Doolittle, G., C, Sun, W, Mudaranthakam, D., P, Streeter, N., R, McGuirk, J., P, Al-Rajabi, R, Hoffmann, M, Kasi, A, Parikh, R., A, Zhong, C, Mitchell, L, Pessetto, Z., Y, Pathak, H, Ghosh, A, LaFaver, S, Sharma, P, Godwin, A., K. 2022. Evaluation of the Durability of the Immune Humoral Response to COVID-19 Vaccines in Patients With Cancer Undergoing Treatment or Who Received a Stem Cell Transplant.. JAMA oncology, 8 (7), 1053-1058
• Zhang, J, Veeramachaneni, N. 2022. Targeting interleukin-1β and inflammation in lung cancer.. Biomarker research, 10 (1), 5
• Bi, J, Yang, S, Li , L, Dai, Q, Borcherding, N, Wagner, B., A, Buettner, G., R, Spitz, D., R, Leslie, K., K, Zhang, J, Meng, X. 2019. Metadherin enhances vulnerability of cancer cells to ferroptosis.. Cell death & disease, 10 (10), 682
• Xu, K, Park, D, Magis, A., T, Zhang, J, Zhou, W, Sica, G., L, Ramalingam, S., S, Curran, W., J, Deng, X. 2019. Small Molecule KRAS Agonist for Mutant KRAS Cancer Therapy.. Molecular cancer, 18 (1), 85
• Strouse, C, Mangalam, A, Zhang, J. 2019. Bugs in the system: bringing the human microbiome to bear in cancer immunotherapy.. Gut microbes, 10 (2), 109-112
• Schoenfeld, J., D, Sibenaller, Z., A, Mapuskar, K., A, Wagner, B., A, Cramer-Morales, K., L, Furqan, M, Sandhu, S, Carlisle, T., L, Smith, M., C, Abu Hejleh, T, Berg, D., J, Zhang, J, Keech, J, Parekh, K., R, Bhatia, S, Monga, V, Bodeker, K., L, Ahmann, L, Vollstedt, S, Brown, H, Shanahan Kauffman, E., P, Schall, M., E, Hohl, R., J, Clamon, G., H, Greenlee, J., D, Howard, M., A, Schultz, M., K, Smith, B., J, Riley, D., P, Domann, F., E, Cullen, J., J, Buettner, G., R, Buatti, J., M, Spitz, D., R, Allen, B., G. 2017. O(2)(⋅-) and H(2)O(2)-Mediated Disruption of Fe Metabolism Causes the Differential Susceptibility of NSCLC and GBM Cancer Cells to Pharmacological Ascorbate.. Cancer cell, 31 (4), 487-500.e8