Ph.D., Drug Design and Medicinal Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

B.E., Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

Drug discovery, geroscience, senescence, aging

• 2023 San Antonio Nathan Shock Center Pilot Grant
• 2022 Carol Schutz Travel Award from the Gerontological Society of America (GSA)
• 2022 Austin Bloch Post-Doctoral Fellow Award from GSA
• 2022 Poster Pitch Award from the American Aging Association
• 2022 Career Development Award from the Postdoc Association at the University of Minnesota
• 2021 George Sacher Student Award from GSA
• 2021 Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization Poster Award from GSA
• 2021 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowships in Aging Research
• 2020 Travel Award from the American Aging Association
• 2012 The First Prize of Excellent Thesis in MedChem, Shanghai Pharmaceutical Association, China

American Aging Association

Gerontological Society of America

International Cell Senescence Association

American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists

American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry

The Zhang Lab focuses on geroscience-guided drug discovery, with the goal of developing novel therapeutics that target the biology of aging to promote healthy longevity and treat age-related diseases.

To achieve this, we employ multidisciplinary strategies to identify and optimize gerotherapeutics, including phenotypic drug screening, high-throughput and high-content screening, virtual screening, computer-aided drug design, medicinal chemistry, and machine learning/artificial intelligence.

In parallel, we utilize biochemical, molecular, and cellular biology techniques, alongside multi-omics and bioinformatics approaches, to elucidate drug mechanisms, validate therapeutic targets, and discover new regulators of aging.

Zhang, L. J.;* Elsallabi, O.; Soto-Palma, C.; Bartz, J.; Salekeen, R.; Nunes, A.; Xu, W.; Lee, K.; Hughes, B.; Zhang, B.; Mohamed, A.; Mcgowan, S.; Angelini, L.; O’Kelly, R.; Biashad, S. A.; Hillpot, E.; Morandini, F.; Seluanov, A.; Gorbunova, V.; Dong, X.; Niedernhofer, L. J.; Robbins, P. D.* Fucoidans are senotherapeutics that enhance SIRT6-dependent DNA repair. bioRxiv 2025, 2025.04.27.650852.

Zhang, L. J.;* Salekeen, R.; Soto-Palma, C.; He, Y.; Elsallabi, O.; Hughes, B.; Nunes, A.; Xu, W.; Zhang, B.; Mohamed, A.; McGowan, S. J.; Angelini, L.; O’Kelly, R.; Kamenecka, T. M.; Niedernhofer, L. J.; Robbins, P. D.* Development of novel flavonoid senolytics through phenotypic drug screening and drug design. bioRxiv 2024, 2024.10.27.620529.

Zhang, L. J.;* Salekeen, R.; Soto-Palma, C.; Elsallabi, O.; Ye, H.; Hughes, B.; Zhang, B.; Nunes, A.; Lee, K.; Xu, W.; Mohamed, A.; Piepgras, E.; McGowan, S. J.; Angelini, L.; O’Kelly, R.; Han, X.; Niedernhofer, L. J.; Robbins, P. D.* Identification of lipid senolytics targeting senescent cells through ferroptosis induction. bioRxiv 2024, 2024.10.14.618023.

Zhang, L.; Pitcher, L. E.; Prahalad, V.; Niedernhofer, L. J.; Robbins, P. D. Targeting cellular senescence with senotherapeutics: senolytics and senomorphics. FEBS J 2023, 290(5), 1362.

Zhang, L.; Pitcher, L. E.; Yousefzadeh, M. J.; Niedernhofer, L. J.; Robbins, P. D.; Zhu, Y. Cellular senescence: a key therapeutic target in aging and diseases. J Clin Invest 2022, 132(15), e158450.

Zhang, L.; Zhao, J.; Mu, X.; McGowan, S. J.; Angelini, L.; O’Kelly, R. D.; Yousefzadeh, M. J.; Sakamoto, A.; Aversa, Z.; LeBrasseur, N. K.; Suh, Y.; Huard, J.; Kamenecka, T. M.; Niedernhofer, L. J.; Robbins, P. D. Novel small molecule inhibition of IKK/NF-kB activation reduces markers of senescence and improves healthspan in mouse models of aging. Aging Cell 2021, 20(12), e13486.

Zhang, L.; Pitcher, L. E.; Prahalad, V.; Niedernhofer, L. J.; Robbins, P. D. Recent advances in the discovery of senolytics. Mech. Ageing Dev. 2021, 200, 111587.

Zhao, J.; Zhang, L.; Mu, X.; Doebelin, C.; Nguyen, W.; Wallace, C.; Reay, D. P.; McGowan, S. J.; Corbo, L.; Clemens, P. R.; Wilson, G. M.; Watkins, S. C.; Solt, L. A.; Cameron, M. D.; Huard, J.; Niedernhofer, L. J.; Kamenecka, T. M.; Robbins, P. D. Development of novel NEMO-binding domain mimetics for inhibiting IKK/NF-kB activation. PLoS Biol. 2018, 16(6), e2004663.