Peng Zhang MD. MS. is the Principle Investigator of the Targeted Project 4 of the CardioPulmonary Vascular Biology COBRE. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital and the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Dr. Zhang is a graduate of Shanxi Medical University in China and of University of Rhode Island. After being a physician-scientist for almost 3 years in China, he came to the United States to pursue a career in biomedical science and was appointed Instructor in Medicine in 2008 and Assistant Professor of Medicine in 2010, following his postdoctoral training in the Cardiovascular Research Center of Rhode Island Hospital and the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Dr. Zhang has a diverse background in medicine and cellular and molecular biology. His research interests concentrate on cardiac remodeling, with a particular focus on cardiac fibroblasts and their role and regulation in the normal and diseased heart. Cardiac remodeling (defined as changes in size, shape and function of the myocardium in response to stress) is a common feature in many cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases including hypertension, coronary artery disease, inflammation, pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It can impair ventricular function, increase the risk for arrhythmias and often leads to heart failure. While fibroblasts are important cellular targets for treatment of cardiac remodeling, efforts to develop the treatments for cardiac remodeling that specifically target fibroblasts are still at an early stage. The long-term goals of his studies are to advance understanding of the signaling mechanisms that determine cardiac fibroblast function and to devise new therapeutic strategies for cardiac remodeling that ultimately should benefit patients with cardiopulmonary vascular disease.

Dr. Zhang’s work has been supported by Medical Research Grant from Rhode Island Foundation (2010-2011), a Pilot Project Award (2011-2013) from NIH COBRE for Perinatal Biology, and a Seed Fund Award (2013-2014) from NIH COBRE Center for Cancer Signaling Networks. Recently, Dr. Zhang was awarded by the American Heart Association a National Scientist Development Grant (2013-2016), which aims to support highly promising beginning scientists in their progress toward independence. Furthermore, the Targeted Investigator Project that Dr. Zhang was awarded from the CardioPulmonary Vascular Biology COBRE (2013-2018) significantly enhances the research scope in his laboratory and allows him to be able to compete for a NIH R01 grant soon. Dr. Zhang also contributes as a co-investigator in a R01 project on the regulation of Gq signaling in cardiac fibroblasts (2013-2017).

In addition, Dr. Zhang serves as Ad hoc reviewer for many peer-reviewed journals. He also actively participates in teaching at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University: he serves as a trainer in the MPP (Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology) graduate program of Brown University, participates as a Junior Faculty trainer in a T32 CardioPulmonary Research Training grant, and participates as a mentor in a T35 Research Training grant.