Hui Zhang
Professor of Chemistry
College of Sciences
The molecular biologist came to UNLV after five years at the Nevada Cancer Institute. He previously taught at Yale University School of Medicine and served in post-doctoral research positions at Harvard Medical School and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at New York. He received his bachelor's from Peking University and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in biochemistry.
Where did you grow up? I was born and raised in Hangzhou, a medium-sized city in China with over 1 million people. I spent a lot of time in Shanghai as well in my childhood and went to college in Beijing, where I met my wife. I am a city boy. That is why I like Las Vegas -- for its glamour and its being a big city.
Research field? I study the biochemistry of cell division at the molecular level. My research identifies new molecules that are part of the cell division machine, and we investigate how different proteins work together to make a cell divide. This research not only helps answer how and why our body can develop from a single fertilized egg but also addresses the mechanisms of diseases such as cancer. Cancer cells can divide under conditions that a normal cell cannot. Identifying the molecular mechanism that promotes cancer cell division can help us develop chemical inhibitors to treat the disease.
What drew you to your profession? My father and many of my relatives died of cancer. Biology, humans, and diseases are full of mystery and challenge, especially at the molecular fundamentals.
Biology and biomedicine researchers are still exploring many big unknowns. I hope that what we discover now will be recorded in history and have big impact tomorrow. I am proud of being in biomedical research at this particular historical time. I believe our research will go deeper and deeper into finding many intriguing and fundamental answers from nature.
What do you find as the most interesting thing about your field? Big discoveries are started as small, casual events or even as a mistake. It is most interesting that one can follow a small lead to make a big discovery that concerns so many people. I study the molecular basis of cell division, and it is beyond my imagination that our small findings can often impact so many fundamental events in biology and biomedicine.
Biggest misconception about your field? That diseases are too complicated to be understood. It is true that some diseases are caused by small mistakes in our body. Others, such as cancer, can be viewed as many diseases, each caused by small and simple mistakes that make fundamental changes in our biology.
What kind of professor would you like your students to remember you as? I hope to be remembered as a professor that inspires them to love science and develop skills and knowledge to discover the fundamentals of Nature.
What is your proudest moment? Seeing my students or myself actually solve a scientific mystery.
Hobbies? Reading history books or real-life stories and fishing.
What gadget could you not live without? My iPhone and iPad.
If you could fix one thing in the world what would it be? Cancer. This is one of the major causes of human death.
Who is your hero? James D. Watson, who discovered the DNA double helix structure that impacts all our research in biomedicine and unlocks our genetic mechanism.
Why UNLV? UNLV provides a unique opportunity to establish a new biomedical research center in Southern Nevada. The UNLV leadership is highly supportive and colleagues are friendly and helpful. I also like Las Vegas for its multicultural society, and it is a very livable city.
