University of Southern California · PharmacologyZhang Lab
Yong Zhang · Los Angeles, California
Research Focus
Dr. Yong Zhang's lab at USC focuses on innovating therapies for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), a challenging and aggressive form of cancer. They are developing engineered exosomes—small vesicles that can boost immune responses to target TNBC tumors. The research aims to create safer and more effective treatments, potentially transforming how TNBC is managed in clinical settings.
triple negative breast cancerimmunotherapyexosomesimmune responsedrug developmentcancer therapyprotein engineeringcellular immunity
Research Aims
3AIM 01Design and characterize engineered exosomes that activate TNBC-specific antitumor immunity.
AIM 02Create and evaluate reprogrammed exosomes to stimulate immune responses against TNBC tumors.
AIM 03Elucidate the mechanisms of action for identified lead immunotherapeutic exosomes.
Skills the Lab Values
exosome engineeringimmune profilingcell cultureanimal modelsflow cytometryprotein analysisimmunological assaysin vitro assaysnanotechnology applications
Output against the department
Publications2,206top 1% of dept.3rd of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations73ktop 2% of dept.11th 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.