Jianhua Zhang, PhD, first learned about Marie Curie’s story and discoveries while studying chemistry in middle school. Years later, Dr. Zhang’s work is still guided by a quote from Curie: “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

She conducted her postdoctoral training at UW-Madison after earning her PhD in molecular and developmental biology at Peking University in Beijing, China. Since 2005, Dr. Zhang has been a member of the laboratory of Timothy Kamp, MD, PhD, professor, Cardiovascular Medicine and co-director of the UW Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center. She joined the Kamp laboratory to perform cardiovascular research using human stem cells.

The central focus of her research is understanding how the heart develops – and thus, how it can be repaired when damaged. “My work focuses on turning human pluripotent (master) stem cells into various types of human heart cells with the goal of advancing our understanding of heart development and disease, and finding new regenerative strategies for the diseased heart,” she explained. 

When she joined the Kamp laboratory, the group was focused on understanding how stem cells could be coaxed into forming different types of heart cells such as heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) and cells that provide structure to the heart (cardiac fibroblasts).