OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute is proud to announce the appointment of Jun Zhang, MD, PhD, as Vice President of Oncology Research. In this role, Dr. Zhang will lead oncology clinical research efforts across the OSF Cancer Institute, including the continued advancement of the OSF Breakthrough Treatment Center—our early phase clinical trial and global research collaboration program.
Dr. Zhang is a physician-scientist, principal investigator, and board-certified medical oncologist with a distinguished record of leadership in translational research and investigator-initiated clinical trials. A nationally recognized expert in lung cancer research and treatment, he brings deep expertise in bridging frontier scientific discovery with real-world clinical impact. His work has been published in more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in top journals such as Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Nature Communications, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Molecular Cancer, Annals of Oncology, JAMA Oncology, Cancer Cell, and The New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Zhang’s expertise aligns directly with the mission of the Breakthrough Treatment Center—to accelerate access to cutting-edge therapies and novel clinical trials for patients facing difficult-to-treat cancers. His experience in building investigator-led studies and translational research programs will play a pivotal role in expanding the Center’s impact, creating new opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and hope for patients across the country and beyond.
Before joining OSF, Dr. Zhang served in leadership roles at the University of Kansas Medical Center, including Director of Medical Oncology Clinical Research Services, Co-Director of the Lung Cancer Program, and Associate Director of the Early Phase Program. He was also appointed professor on the Clinical Scholar Track, reflecting his dual contributions to clinical and laboratory oncology research.
Dr. Zhang’s research spans several key areas in oncology, including the role of the microbiome in lung cancer development and immunotherapy response, mechanisms of resistance in targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer, and the development of innovative translational trials for thoracic malignancies.
His extensive education and training include:
- MD in Clinical Medicine from Hunan Medical University (now Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University)
- PhD in Cellular Biology & Anatomy from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
- Residency in Internal Medicine and Pulmonology at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine
- Postdoctoral Fellowships in Cancer Biology at LSU Health Sciences Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Harvard Medical School), and UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Residency in Internal Medicine at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
- Clinical Fellowship in Hematology & Medical Oncology at Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine
Dr. Zhang is an active member of several prestigious professional organizations, including the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), and Sigma Xi.
In addition to his leadership role at OSF, Dr. Zhang will serve as a professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria and collaborate closely with researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, helping expand translational research initiatives across the region.