TTUHSC School of Pharmacy
SOP

Faculty & Staff Details

Photo of Ruiwen Zhang Name: Ruiwen Zhang
Position: Professor
Email: ruiwen.zhang@ttuhsc.edu
Bio Dr. Zhang joined TTUHSC School of Pharmacy as Department Chair and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in July 2010. Prior to that, Dr. Zhang was Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacology and Toxicology and Director of Cancer Pharmacology Laboratory at the University of Alabama School Of Medicine, Birmingham, AL (UAB). Dr. Zhang is a certified toxicologist by the American Board of Toxicology (D.A.B.T.) and has been a Board Director of ABT since 2009. For his outstanding contributions in pharmaceutical sciences, Dr. Zhang was elected as a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2009, which is regarded as a prestigious national honor.

Dr. Zhang obtained his MD with highest honor in 1983 and PhD in Toxicology in 1988, from Shanghai Medical University, China, and completed his post-doctoral clinical pharmacology fellowship at UAB between 1989 and 1992. With over 20 years of experience in the field of biomedical and pharmaceutical research, particularly in the area of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, pharmaceutical and toxicological sciences, Dr. Zhang’s research has been continuously funded by NIH and DoD, and also funded by pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Dr. Zhang has been serving many Study Sections or Review Panels of NIH, Department of Defense, CDC, and Cancer Research UK, among others. He was a recipient of FDA Advisory Committee Service Award (2008). Dr. Zhang is an Editor, Associate Editor or Editorial Board Member of 18 scientific journals such as Current Cancer Drug Targets, Current Medicinal Chemistry, and Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management. He also has been a reviewer for more than 60 scientific journals. Dr. Zhang also has extensive experience in training undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students, junior faculty, and clinical investigators.

Education:

EDUCATON:
• M.D. (with the highest honor), Shanghai Medical University (now Fudan University Medical Center), Shanghai, China, 1983.
• Ph.D. in Toxicology and Occupational Epidemiology, Shanghai Medical University (now Fudan University Medical Center), 1988.
• Post-doctoral/Clinical Pharmacology Fellow, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, 1989-1992.

AWARDS AND HONORS:
• Distinguished Medical Student (SMU, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983)
• Outstanding Student of Shanghai (Shanghai, 1983)
• Rong-Lin Medical Prize (Distinguished Medical Graduate, ranked First, the highest honor for MD, SMU, 1983)
• National Research Awards --Toxicology and Occupational Health of Formaldehyde (Ministry of Labor, China, 1992)
• Senior Advisor to the Director General -- National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, Ministry of Health, P.R. China, 1996-1999
• Adjunct Professor -- National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, 1996-1999
• Visiting Professor -- National Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China (Supported by a grant from China National Science Foundation), 1997-2000
• Visiting Scientist, National Clinical Pharmacology Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 1999
• Adjunct Professor – Nanjing Medical University, 2005-present
• Visiting Professor – Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2005-2007
• Member, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 2005-present
• Guest Professor – The Third Military Medical University, China, 2006-present
• Honorary Professor – Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China, 2007-present
• Honorary Professor – Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, 2007-present
• US FDA Advisory Committee Service Award (2008)
• Honorary Professor – Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China, 2008-present
• Board Director—American Board of Toxicology, 2009-2013
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS; 2009-)
• Outstanding Service Award, Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America (SCBA; 2010)
• Honorary Professor-Southwest Hospital, Third Medical University, Chongqing, China,2010-present

EDITOR/EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERSHIPS
2000-date Editorial Advisory Board, Current Cancer Drug Targets
2000 Executive Guest Editor, Current Cancer Drug Targets
2002-date Editorial Advisory Board, Letters in Drug Design and Discovery
2003-date Editorial Advisory Board, Medicinal Chemistry Reviews –Online
2003-2006 Editorial Advisory Board, Drug Design Reviews –Online
2003-date Editorial Committee for Pharmacology, Foxwell & Davies
2004-date Editorial Board, Medicinal Chemistry
2004-date Associate Editor, Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management
2004-date Editorial Board, Current Medicinal Chemistry
2004-date Editorial Board, Journal of Biological Sciences
2004-2005 Executive Guest Editor, Current Cancer Drug Targets
2005-date Editorial Board, Recent Patent Reviews on Anti -Cancer Drug Discovery
2005-date Editorial Board, Current Medicinal Chemistry-Anti-Cancer Agents
2005-date Editorial Board, Scientific Journals International
2006-date Editorial Board, The Open Cancer Journal
2007-date Editor, Molecular Targeting in Drug Discovery, Humane
2008-date Editorial Board, Advances in Pharmacological Sciences
2008-date Editorial Board, The Open Biomarker
2008-date Editorial Board, The Open Lung Cancer Journal
2009-date Sr. Editorial Board, International Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2010-date Associate Editor, Frontiers in Pharmacology

Research Interests:

MAJOR RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Molecular, biochemical, and clinical pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
• Molecular cancer biology and molecular cancer therapeutics
• Gene regulation and silencing
• Biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals
• Drug discovery and development
• Cancer prevention and biomarkers
• Nutrition and health

Publications:

Selected Peer-reviewed Publications (from over 150)

• Zhang R, Yan J, Shahinian H, Amin G, Lu Z, Liu, T, Saag, MS, Jiang Z, Temsamani J, Martin RR, Schechter P, Agrawal S, Diasio RB. Pharmacokinetics of an anti-human immunodeficiency virus antisense oligodeoxynucleotide phosphorothioate (GEM 91) in HIV-infected subjects. Clin Pharmacol Ther 1995; 58: 44-53.
• Agrawal S, Jiang Z, Zhao Q, Shaw D, Cai Q, Roskey A, Channavajjala L, Saxinger C, Zhang R. Mixed-backbone oligonucleotides as second generation antisense oligonucleotides: In vitro and in vivo studies. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1997; 94: 2620-2625.
• Chen L, Agrawal S, Zhou W, Zhang R, Chen J. Synergistic activation of p53 by inhibition of MDM2 expression and DNA damage. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1998; 95: 195-200.
• Wang H, Cai Q, Zeng X, Yu D, Agrawal S, Zhang R. Anti-tumor activity and pharmacokinetics of a mixed-backbone antisense oligonucleotide targeted to RI? ?subunit of protein kinase A after oral administration. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1999; 96: 13989-13994.
• Zhang Z, Li M, Wang H, Agrawal S, Zhang R. Antisense therapy targeting MDM2 oncogene in prostate cancer: Effects on proliferation, apoptosis, multiple gene expression, and chemotherapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003; 100:11636-11641.
• Zhang Z, Wang H, Prasad G, Li M, Yu D, Bonner J, Agrawal S, Zhang R. Radiosensitization by antisense anti-MDM2 mixed-backbone oligonucleotide in in vitro and in vivo human cancer models. Clin Cancer Res. 2004; 10: 1263-1273. (Feature Article)
• Wang H, Li M, Rinehart JJ, Zhang R. Pretreatment with dexamethasone increases anti-tumor activity of carboplatin and gemcitabine in mice bearing human cancer xenografts: In Vivo activity, pharmacokinetics and clinical implications for cancer chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2004;10: 1633-1644. (Feature Article)
• Zhang Z, Wang H, Li M, Agrawal S, Chen X, Zhang R. MDM2 is a negative regulator of p21 WAF1/CIP1, independent of p53. J Biol Chem 2004; 279: 16000-16006.
• Zhang Z, Wang H, Li M, Rayburn E, Agrawal S, Zhang R. Stabilization of E2F1 protein by MDM2 through the E2F1 ubiquitination pathway. Oncogene 2005; 24(48):7238-7247.
• Li M, Zhang Z, Hill D, Chen X, Wang H, Zhang R. Genistein, a dietary isoflavone, down-regulates MDM2 oncogene at both transcriptional and post-translational levels. Cancer Res. 2005; 65-8200-8208.
• Chen D, Zhang Z, Li M, Wang W, Li Y, Rayburn ER, Hill DL, Wang H, Zhang R. Ribosomal protein S7 as a novel modulator of p53-MDM2 interaction: binding to MDM2, stabilization of p53 protein, and activation of p53 function. Oncogene. 2007; 26: 5029-5037.
• Li M, Zhang Z, Hill D, Wang H, Zhang R. Curcumin, a dietary component, has anticancer, chemosensitization, and radiosensitization effects by down-regulating the MDM2 oncogene through the PI3K/mTOR/ETS2 pathway. Cancer Res. 2007; 67(5): 1988-1996.
• Zhang Z and Zhang R. Proteasome activator PA28gamma regulates p53 by enhancing its MDM2-mediated degradation. EMBO Journal 2008; 27(6):852-864.
• Chen D, Zhang J, Li M, Rayburn ER, Wang H, Zhang R. RYBP (Ring-1 and YY1-binding protein) stabilizes p53 by modulating MDM2. EMBO Reports 2009; 10(2):166-172.
• Zhang X, Xu W, Qian H, Zhu W, Zhang R. Mesenchymal stem cells modified to express lentivirus-TNFa-Tumstatin45-132 inhibit the growth of prostate cancer. J Cell Mol Med. Oct 3, 2009 [Epub ahead of print]
• Xu H, Zhang Z, Li M, Zhang R. MDM2 promotes proteasomal degradation of p21Waf1 via a conformation change. J Biol Chem 2010; 285(24):18407-18414.

To contact Dr. Zhang:
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
1300 S. Coulter Street
Amarillo, TX 79106
T: 806-356-4015 x246
F: 806-356-4034
E-mail: ruiwen.zhang@ttuhsc.edu

Administrative Assistant:
T: 806-356-4015 x245 or X247