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Qiang Zhang
Assoc Professor
Associate Professor
Faculty, Environmental Health
My research interest is focused on using computer simulations of biological systems to understand and predict the human health effects of environmental perturbations. These perturbations, elicited by environmental chemicals, dietary supplements, and drugs, can alter the dynamics of the molecular circuits and networks operating in cells, leading to multiple disease endpoints. In close collaboration with experimental biologists and toxicologists, I develop mechanistically based computational systems biology models of cellular biochemical and toxicity pathways. These mechanistically-based models will help us to make better predictions of the dose-response relationship. The current research focuses on the following areas:
- Modeling effects of environmental oxidative stressors and antioxidants on insulin secretion and sensitivity in diabetes
- Modeling humoral immune response and its disruption by the environmental contaminant dioxin
- Modeling the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis to make health risk predictions for endocrine-disrupting chemicals
- Modeling cellular stress pathways to understand nonlinear dose-response and threshold effect of low-level environmental exposure
- Modeling the ovarian follicle dominance selection and its disruption by endocrine-disrupting chemicals
- Modeling circadian rhythm of cellular redox state and metabolism
- Physiologically-based pharmakokinetic (PBPK) or toxicokinetic (PBTK) modeling of tissue dosimetry and chemical exposure
Contact Information
1518 Clifton Rd, NE
Atlanta , GA 30322
Phone: 404-727-0154
Email: qiang.zhang@emory.edu
Areas of Interest
- Diabetes
- Disease Pathogenesis
- Endocrine Disruptors
- Exposome
- Immunology
- Modeling
- Risk Assessment
- Toxicology
Education
- PhD 2003, University of Connecticut
- MD 1995, Harbin Medical University
Courses Taught
- EHS 730: Computational Systems Biology
- EHS 760: Advanced Risk Assessment
- EH 595: Applied Practice Experience
- EH 592: ILE in EH: Part 2
Affiliations & Activities
- Adjunct faculty in the Molecular and Systems Pharmacology Program of School of Medicine at Emory University
- Adjunct faculty in the BioEngineering Graduate Program at Georgia Tech
Publications
- Qing Y., Yang J., Zhang Q., Zhu Y., Ruiz P., Wu M, Zhao G., Zhao Q., Liu H., Cai H., Qin L., Zheng W., and He G., 2021, Bayesian Toxicokinetic Modeling of Cadmium Exposure in Chinese Population, J of Hazardous Materials , 413, 125465
- Li H., Yuan H., Middleton A., Li J., Nicol B., Carmichael P., Guo J., Peng S, and Zhang Q. , 2021, Next generation risk assessment (NGRA): bridging in vitro points-of-departure to human safety assessment using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling – a case study of doxorubicin with dose metrics considerations, Toxicology In Vitro , 74, 105171
- Zhang Q., Caudle W.M., Pi J., Bhattacharya S., Andersen M.E., Kaminski N.E., and Conolly R.B., 2019, Embracing Systems Toxicology at Single-Cell Resolution, Current Opinion in Toxicology, 16, 49-57
- Zhang Q., Li J., Middleton A., Bhattacharya S., and Conolly R.B., 2018, Bridging the Data Gap from in vitro Toxicity Testing to Chemical Safety Assessment through Computational Modeling. Frontiers in Public Health. Vol 6: Article 261., Frontiers in Public Health, 6, 261
- Yuan H., Zhang Q., Guo J., Zhang T., Hou M., Zhao J., Li J., White A., Carmichael P.L., Westmoreland C., and Peng S., 2016, A PGC-1a-Mediated Transcriptional Network Maintains Mitochondrial Redox and Bioenergetic Homeostasis against Doxorubicin-Induced Toxicity in Human Cardiomyocytes: Implementation of TT21C, Toxicological Sciences, 150, 400-17
- Cheng W.Y., Zhang Q., Schroeder A., Villeneuve D.L., Ankley G.T., and Conolly, R.B., 2016, Computational modeling of plasma vitellogenin alterations in response to aromatase inhibition in fathead minnows, Toxicological Sciences, 154, 78-89
- Zhang Q., Bhattacharya S., Pi J., Clewell R.A., Carmichael P.L., and Andersen M.E., 2015, Adaptive Posttranslational Control in Cellular Stress Response Pathways and its Relationship to Toxicity Testing and Safety Assessment, Toxicological Sciences, 147, 302-316
- Zheng H., Fu J., Xue P., Zhao R., Dong J., Liu D., Yamamoto M., Tong Q., Teng W., Qu W., Zhang Q., Andersen M.E., and Pi J., 2015, CNC-bZIP protein Nrf1-dependent regulation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, 22, 819-31
- Adeleye Y., Andersen M., Clewell R., Davies M., Dent M., Edwards S., Fowler P., Malcomber S., Nicol B., Scott A., Scott S., Sun B., Westmoreland C., White A., Zhang Q., and Carmichael P.L., 2015, Implementing Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century (TT21C): Making safety decisions using toxicity pathways, and progress in a prototype risk assessment, Toxicology, 332, 102-111
- Fu J., Zheng H., Wang H., Yang B., Zhao R., Lu C., Liu Z., Hou Y., Xu Y., Zhang Q., Qu W., and Pi J., 2015, Protective Role of Nuclear Factor E2-related Factor 2 Against Acute Oxidative Stress-induced Pancreatic ß-cell Damage. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, Article ID: 639191,
- Li Z., Sun B., Clewell R., Adeleye Y., Andersen M.E., and Zhang Q., 2014, Dose Response Modeling of Etoposide-Induced DNA Damage Response, Toxicological Sciences, 137, 371-384
- Wang S., Zheng W., Liu X., Xue P., Jiang S., Lu D., Zhang Q., He G., Pi J., Andersen M.E., Tan H., and Qu W., 2014, Iodoacetic acid activates Nrf2-mediated antioxidant response in vitro and in vivo, Environmental Science & Technology, 48, 13478–13488
- Zhang Q., Bhattacharya S., Conolly R.B., Clewell H.J. III, Kaminski N.E., and Andersen M.E., 2014, Molecular Signaling Network Motifs Provide a Mechanistic Basis for Cellular Threshold Responses, Environmental Health Perspective, 122, 1261-1270
- Xue P., Hou Y., Chen Y., Yang B., Fu J., Zheng H., Yarborough K., Woods C.G., Liu D., Collins S., Yamamoto M., Zhang Q., Andersen M.E., and Pi J., 2013, Adipose Deficiency of Nrf2 in ob/ob Mice Results in Severe Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes, 62, 845-854
- Zhang Q., Kline D.E., Bhattacharya S., Crawford R.B., Conolly R.B., Thomas R.S., Andersen M.E., and Kaminski N.E., 2013, All-or-None Suppression of B Cell Terminal Differentiation by 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 268, 17-26
- Hou Y., Xue P., Woods C.G., Wang X., Fu J., Yarborough K., Qu W., Zhang Q., Andersen M.E., and Pi J., 2013, Association between Arsenic Suppression of Adipogenesis and Induction of CHOP10 via the Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response, Environmental Health Perspective, 121, 237-43
- Fu J., Zhang Q., Woods C.G., Zheng H., Yang B., Qu W., Andersen M.E., and Pi J., 2013, Divergent Effects of Sulforaphane on Basal and Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion in ?-Cells: Role of Reactive Oxygen Species and Induction of Endogenous Antioxidants, Pharmaceutical Research, 30, 2248-2259
- Zhang Q., Bhattacharya S., and Andersen M.E., 2013, Ultrasensitive Response Motifs: Basic Amplifiers in Molecular Signaling Networks, Open Biology, 3, 130031
- Zhao R., Hou Y., Zhang Q., Woods C.G., Xue P., Fu J., Yarborough K., Guan D., Andersen M.E., and Pi J., 2012, Cross-Regulations among NRFs and KEAP1 and Effects of Their Silencing on Arsenic-Induced Antioxidant Response and Cytotoxicity in Human Keratinocytes, Environmental Health Perspective, 120, 583-9
- Zhan L., Zhang H., Zhang Q., Woods C.G., Chen Y., Xue P., Dong J., Tokar E.J., Xu Y., Hou Y., Fu J., Yarborough K., Wang A., Qu W., Waalkes M.P., Andersen M.E., and Pi J., 2012, Regulatory role of KEAP1 and NRF2 in PPAR? expression and chemoresistance in human non-small-cell lung carcinoma cells, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 53, 758-768