Qiuwang Zhang, MD, PhD
St Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada
Dr. Qiuwang Zhang is currently an Associate Research scientist in Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto affiliated with the University of Toronto. Dr. Zhang’s research areas include 1) elucidation of microRNA role in cardiovascular disease (CVD); 2) development of novel endovascular devices for the treatment of CVD, and 3) investigation of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) pathogenesis.
Using cell and molecular biology approaches, Dr. Zhang has discovered that 1) miRNAs in endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) from patients with coronary artery disease are dysregulated; 2) EPCs isolated from patients with HHT and idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension exhibit impaired function; and 3) circulating miRNAs may serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of pulmonary arteriovenous malformation, a life-threatening complication in HHT.
Surface endothelialisation is a promising strategy to solve the thrombotic problem inherent in endovascular devices. One of Dr. Zhang’s projects involves the design and development of antibody-coated endovascular devices that can capture circulating EPCs for enhanced endogenous endothelialisation.
Publications