Dr. Anli Zhang

BCA 2026 Young Investigator Grantee

Dr. Zhang is an Instructor in Dr. Zhijian James Chen's laboratory at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She earned her PhD from Fudan University in China and completed her postdoctoral training in Dr. Yang-Xin Fu's laboratory at UT Southwestern. Her research focuses on developing innovative immunotherapies for patients whose cancers no longer respond to existing treatments. Dr. Zhang has pioneered new approaches to strengthen the body's immune response against cancer and is advancing cutting-edge technologies designed to improve cancer vaccines.

With support from Breast Cancer Alliance, Dr. Zhang is developing a novel mRNA-based therapeutic approach that activates the body's innate immune system to help it better recognize and attack triple-negative breast cancer. Her research has the potential to make immunotherapy more effective for patients with aggressive breast cancers that are often difficult to treat.