UTMThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center · Pharmacology
The Senescence Research Hub
Rugang Zhang · Houston, Texas
Research Focus
Dr. Rugang Zhang's lab is focused on understanding how cancer cells can evade treatment and promote tumor growth through a process called senescence. They specifically study the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which involves the secretion of various factors by senescent cells that can contribute to therapy resistance in epithelial ovarian cancer. The lab aims to uncover the underlying mechanisms of this process, particularly through the role of certain proteins, and to develop new therapeutic strategies that target these pathways to improve treatment outcomes for patients.
senescenceovarian cancerSASPtherapeutic resistancecGAS-STING pathway
Research Aims
2AIM 01Investigate the molecular mechanism by which TXNRD1 regulates the SASP during senescence.
AIM 02Determine the role of TXNRD1 in the response to therapy in epithelial ovarian cancer.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemouse modelsWestern blottingRNA sequencingimmunohistochemistryxenograft experimentsflow cytometrygene expression analysisprotein assays
Output against the department
Publications502top 11% of dept.49th of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations13ktop 30% of dept.139th of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.