Structural biologist and inflammation expert Dr. Liman Zhang joins Van Andel Institute

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (August 14, 2024) — Van Andel Institute has welcomed structural biologist Liman Zhang, Ph.D., whose research explores how the immune system responds to infection, cancer and metabolic disorders.

As an associate professor in VAI’s Department of Structural Biology, Zhang will leverage the Institute’s powerful suite of cryo-electron microscopes to study the factors that trigger inflammation during an immune response. Although inflammation is a normal part of the body’s reaction to infection or injury, it can cause damage if it is prolonged.

“Inflammation is associated with almost all diseases,” Zhang said. “VAI’s exceptional research environment is set to advance our studies on triggers of inflammation and will help us identify potential therapeutic targets that may improve treatments for inflammatory diseases.”

Zhang earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital.

Related: Learn more about Dr. Zhang’s research ➔

In 2020, she established her laboratory at Oregon Health & Science University. While there, she built a research program that investigated the inflammasome, a group of large protein complexes that kick-start inflammation once the immune system detects a threat. Understanding the nuances of this crucial process may inform future treatments for cancer, infection and a host of other conditions.

She has received several awards for her work, including the 2023 Outstanding Research Faculty Award (Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry Department) from Oregon Health & Science University; a Medical Research Foundation New Investigator Award; a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health; and a Cancer Research Institute Postdoctoral Training Fellowship.