Dr. Gang Zheng (郑岗) (Cancer Nanomedicine and Phototherapy)
Dr. Gang Zheng, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cancer Nanomedicine, is recognized for his outstanding, innovative, and pioneering contributions to nanomedicine, cancer imaging, and phototherapy. Dr. Zheng is an internationally renowned leader in his field, with over 24,000 citations and an H-index of 77, and has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
Dr. Zheng’s research focuses on the development of novel technology platforms for molecular imaging, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and nanomedicine. His most celebrated discovery is the porphysome nanotechnology-first-in-class nanoparticles self-assembled from a single porphyrin-lipid building block that popularized the “one-for-all” nanomedicine design principle. Named as one of the “Top Ten Cancer Breakthroughs in 2011” by the Canadian Cancer Society, this discovery was hailed as “One Particle to Rule Them All” by Nature Methods and “Porphysomes do it all” by Chemical & Engineering News. Dr. Zheng has tirelessly worked to translate this technology to the clinic and has recently received Health Canada approval for a clinical trial for patients with metastatic ovarian cancer.
Dr. Zheng introduced the concept of activatable photosensitizers, enabling light-activated drugs to be silenced in normal cells but toxic in cancer cells expressing specific signatures, thereby greatly mitigating the collateral damage that often limits cancer therapy. His review on activatable photosensitizers in Chemical Reviews has been cited over 1,800 times. He also discovered ultrasound-induced micro-to-nano conversion, offering a barrier-busting drug delivery pathway that bypasses the enhanced permeability and retention pathway to deliver imaging agents and drugs directly to tumours. This work won Dr. Zheng the 2015 Till and McCulloch Paper of the Year Award.
Dr. Zheng has been highly sought after for his nanofabrication expertise as the Director of UHN’s Nanomedicine Fabrication Centre (NanoMed Fab), and his innovations have led to three start-up companies: Marillian Pharmaceuticals, DLVR Therapeutics, and Nanogenix. He currently serves as Associate Research Director of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
Dr. Zheng received his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and completed postdoctoral training in Photodynamic Therapy at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He started his independent career as an Assistant Professor of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Toronto in 2006.
Education
- Ph.D., Chemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1998
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Photodynamic Therapy, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, 1999-2000
Scholarship
- Publication of over 256 peer-reviewed papers with over 24,000 citations and an H-index of 77
- Associate Editor for Bioconjugate Chemistry (2014-2024) and Editorial Board Member for multiple leading journals including ACS Nano Med, Langmuir, and Theranostics
- Supervised over 100 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
- Delivered over 230 invited lectures at academic institutions (e.g., Stanford, Harvard, UCLA), international conferences, and biopharmaceutical companies
Honours and Awards (selected)
- 2025 Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry (UK)
- 2025 Institute of Medical Science Faculty Recognition Award for Strong Mentorship
- 2019-Present Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cancer Nanomedicine
- 2022 CPAC Professional Achievement Award
- 2019 Medical Biophysics Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Toronto
- 2016 Till and McCulloch Paper of the Year (Translational) Award
- 2016 Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering