We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Yan Zhang as our keynote speaker for the 2026 PUNDS symposium.
Yan Zhang, Ph.D., is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Virginia Commonwealth
University School of Pharmacy. He is also an affiliated faculty member in the Departments of
Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Neuroscience and Anatomy at VCU. Dr. Zhang serves as
the Director of the VCU Center for Drug Discovery since 2024. Dr. Zhang received a bachelor
degree in Chemistry from Nankai University, Tianjin, China in 1992 and a Ph.D. degree in
Medicinal and Organic Chemistry from Peking Union Medical College in 1997. Dr. Zhang’s
research laboratory has a longstanding interest in the design, discovery, and development of
novel chemical entities and their potential applications in pharmacology, biochemistry, biology,
and therapy. His research program has been continuously supported by NIH and other funding
agencies since 2006. Dr. Zhang is a member of the National Academy of Inventors since 2018.
Dr. Zhang serves on the Executive Committee of Virginia Drug Discovery Consortium since
2021. In 2024, Dr. Zhang received the VCU Distinguished Scholarship Award, the highest
research award for a faculty member at VCU to achieve. He has served on many NIH study
sections, and is a reviewer for numerous of scientific journals. He is currently the major inventor
of over twenty patents on novel therapeutics to treat substance use disorders, sickle cell
disease, and cancer. He is leading two major preclinical study grants awarded by National
Institute on Drug Abuse to treat opioid use disorders.