EMBL Australia group leaders conduct ambitious, foundational research that paves the way for addressing some of the greatest health challenges in modern medicine.
Dr Qi Zhang hopes to uncover fundamental epigenetic insights that equip scientists worldwide with the knowledge to develop new cancer therapies and treatments for developmental diseases.
At the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI), Dr Zhang and her team study how cells regulate gene expression during identity changes, such as when stem cells develop into mature cell types.
She investigates the intricate process of DNA packaging in healthy cells to understand what goes awry in cancer cells, integrating methodologies from biochemistry, structural biology, cell biology, genomics and bioinformatics.
By examining the structure and function of epigenetic modifiers – key regulators of gene expression and cell behaviour – Dr Zhang aims to uncover how these mechanisms can
break down, leading to cancer and other diseases.
Prior to becoming the first EMBL Australia group leader at SAiGENCI in 2023, Dr Zhang was a high-achieving postdoctoral fellow in EMBL Australia’s Davidovich Group.
Dr Qi Zhang was awarded a prestigious $1.25m CSL Centenary Fellowship in 2024 to advance her epigenetics research.
*Image credit: Stepping Stone Films