Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School; Associate Investigator, Neurology, Mass General Research Institute
Dr. Can (Martin) Zhang is an Associate Professor of Neurology and a faculty member of the McCance Center for Brain Health at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Harvard Medical School (HMS). Dr. Zhang received his M.D. and master’s degree at the Weifang Medical College, China and then his Ph.D. at the Drexel University, US, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in Dr. Rudy Tanzi’s laboratory, before he became a faculty at MGH and HMS. Dr. Zhang has been leading a translational neuroscience program engaging in multiple projects committed to not only discovering the molecular etiology of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), but also developing potential therapeutics for AD intervention. With colleagues, Dr. Zhang has investigated molecules including the γ-secretase modulators (GSMs), curcumin analogs, epigenetic and neuroinflammatory regulators, as well as FDA-approved drugs (e.g. cromolyn) that are potentially usable as AD drugs. Additionally, Dr. Zhang has unraveled new AD biomarkers using an array of state-of-the-art technologies, including multiplex biochemical assays, molecular positron emission tomography imaging (which led to the discovery of a new GSM-based probe enabling the visualization of γ-secretase in the brain of live animals and potentially humans) and machine learning-integrated Raman spectrometry screening, among others. Funded through research grants from the NIH, ADDF, and Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, Dr. Zhang is working with a highly collaborative and supportive research team, and is mentoring his trainees through these research projects.
