Associate Professor
Dr. Zhiwen Jonathan Zhang has held the position of Associate Professor in the Bioengineering Department at the School of Engineering, Santa Clara University, since September 2011. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin in 2001, followed by postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute from 2001 to 2004. Prior to joining Santa Clara University, Dr. Zhang was an Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin from 2004 to 2011, with appointments in the College of Pharmacy, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology.
Dr. Zhang's teaching repertoire spans from foundational courses like "Biomolecular Engineering"; to advanced offerings such as the integrative capstone "Molecular Biodevice Engineering"; as well as the classic "Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design". Under his guidance, his laboratory has shepherded the graduation of 7 post-doctors, 2 visiting professors, and 5 Ph.D. students, while also mentoring a diverse cohort of Masters and undergraduate research scholars.
Dr. Zhang has pioneered highly interdisciplinary research initiatives at the nexus of biomolecular and device engineering, biochemistry, chemical and synthetic biology,drug discovery, and BIOAI. The outcomes from Dr. Zhang's laboratory has yielded innovative technologies, including unnatural genetic codes, the trM2H system, site-specific protein cross-linking, synthetic antibodies, cell LASIK, and cell-shaving technologies, as well as new drugs for the treatment of cancers and ophthalmic diseases. Most notably, Dr. Zhang's team has unraveled the intricate molecular dialogues between mammalian cells and Gram-positive bacterial cells, culminating in the successful development of groundbreaking therapies to combat super-bacterial infections in a post-antibiotics era. His research has spearheaded advancements in GENAI within the biotech and healthcare sectors and has pioneered a patented "Biotech+Techbio" platform, currently revolutionizing the landscape of drug discovery.
Dr. Zhang actively nurtures collaborative partnerships with faculty members and his former students from universities and medical schools. His impactful contributions extend to serving on NIH peer review panels, chairing Ph.D. committees, Guest Professor,
and driving academic innovation and excellence within a distinguished university setting.
At the forefront of translational science and bioengineering, Dr. Zhang has been awarded ten US and international patents. Leveraging these discoveries, he has co-founded multiple biotech companies specializing in biopharma, biotech platforms, and high-throughput non-invasive diagnostic medical devices. Two of these companies have gone public through IPOs, and one was acquired in a significant deal in 2024. Dr. Zhang is a sought-after consultant for biotech and venture capital firms.
Current Research Area
- Advancing Precision Protein Ligation Chemistry for Anti-aging and Cancer
- Novel mitochondrial-specific peptide/protein transport system orthogonal to TIM/TOM
- Synthetic antibody approach
- BIOAI design
- Subcellular non-ribosomal protein synthesis – enzyme-catalyzed protein synthesis in vivo
- Antibody drug conjugation (ADC) and production in mitochondria.
- Novel mitochondrial-specific peptide/protein transport system orthogonal to TIM/TOM
- Origin of Life – Molecular Deconvolution (MD) technology
- iGFP – Peptidic GFPs was engineered as bioprobes.
- (In Progress) Engineer smaller CRISPR-CAS for gene therapy
- Engineering bacteria cells for micro-plastics degradation
- Directed evolution to create new enzymes capable of breaking down ocean micro-plastics – currently 5% efficacy
- (In Progress) BIOAI assisted second generation enzyme discovery
- Translational Bioengineering: Successful Research Ventures into the Biotech Industry
Funding and Acknowledgement
We appreciate the grants from NIH NCI R01, NSF SBIR, American Heart Association, Welch Foundation, JOINN Foundation, IBM, SCU Internal Research grants, as well as the awards from the scientific community. We are deeply grateful for the close collaboration and support from the biotech and high-tech industry in the Bay Area as well as the esteemed academic scholars across the nation and internationally.
Teaches
- Biomolecular Engineering I (BIOE 175) labs (BIOE175L)
- Biomolecular Engineering II (BIOE 176)
- Biodevice Engineering (BIOE 163) labs (BIOE 163L)
- Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design I (BIOE 138/238)
- Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design II (BIOE 139/239)
- Senior Design Projects (BIOE 194, 195, 196)
For a list of Bioengineering course descriptions, visit the Undergraduate Course Descriptions page or the Graduate Course Descriptions page.
Publications
