Zhihui Wang, PhD

Expertise: multiscale modeling of cancer, biophysical modeling of drug transport, translational oncology, drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics modeling (PKPD), mathematical modeling in cancer nanomedicine

Zhihui Wang, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Mathematics in Medicine Program at Houston Methodist Research Institute. Dr. Wang is a leading expert in the fields of mechanistic biophysical modeling of drug transport, modeling-aided drug target discovery, and multiscale modeling of cancer progression and treatment. His current research focuses on integrating mathematical, physical, and statistical methods with experimental investigations and patient data analysis to quantitatively study tumor progression and invasion, with a focus on improving prediction and optimize treatment planning. In collaboration with experimental and clinical collaborators within the Texas Medical Center and broad, he developed a series of mathematical models for predicting patient-specific tumor response to treatment (including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and nanomedicine) across different types of cancers, using standard clinical diagnostic measurements. His research goal is to translate his mechanistic models into clinic application for helping front-line physicians determine more effective, patient-specific drug treatment schedules (i.e., individualized, precision medicine) beyond the current standard. Dr. Wang published a scientific monograph: “An Introduction to Physical Oncology,“ CRC Press, July 2017, which discusses recent breakthroughs in modeling and optimizing cancer treatment as a combination of physical, engineering, and biological problems, rather than focusing exclusively on the biological aspect.