Zhao Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and of Internal Medicine, has been selected to receive the first Jack Sarver Prize in Basic Science from the American Heart Association (AHA). The award recognizes early- and midcareer independent cardiovascular researchers whose work exemplifies scientific excellence and advances the AHA’s mission to improve cardiovascular health and reduce the burden of heart disease and stroke.

Dr. Zhang said the honor is a wonderful reflection of his team’s work and unconventional way of doing science to improve human health.

“We don’t start with a favorite gene or pathway; we start with striking physiological phenotypes in mice and work backward to discover the cause,” he explained. “This prize affirms that taking that risk is worthwhile and will help us push the research further. I am grateful to my trainees and collaborators who made these discoveries possible.”

The award, which will be presented in November at the AHA Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, includes an engraved plaque, a $3,500 honorarium, and $25,000 to further Dr. Zhang’s research.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, and metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes are major risk factors. The Zhang Lab is working to understand the root cause of cardiometabolic syndromes by using a unique, unbiased “forward genetics” approach.

“We start with unusual disease traits that arise from random mutations in mice, then work backward to identify the responsible gene and the underlying mechanism,” Dr. Zhang said. “This helps us find ‘exceptions’ that challenge long-standing assumptions – for example, diabetes in lean animals, obesity caused by reduced heat generation rather than overeating, and tiny antennalike structures on brain cells (primary cilia) that help control appetite and body weight. By finding these exceptions, we uncover hidden pathways that may point to new treatments.”

Dr. Zhang’s long-term research goal is to map the key nodes that keep metabolism and cardiovascular risk in balance and to translate those insights into therapies that help people live healthier, longer lives.

“Just as important, I aim to train the next generation of scientists to use unbiased, discovery-driven approaches to solve tough biomedical problems,” he said.

After earning a Ph.D. in developmental biology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dr. Zhang joined the lab of Nobel Laureate Bruce Beutler, M.D., Director of UTSW’s Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and Professor of Immunology and Internal Medicine, for his postdoctoral training. Dr. Zhang became a UTSW faculty member in 2020 with support from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00).

Dr. Zhang’s research has been recognized with a 2023 Haberecht Wildhare-Idea Research Grant from the UTSW Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He has maintained continuous NIH support, delivered invited presentations at national and international conferences, and published in leading journals, such as Science, Cell Metabolism, Nature Communications, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

“I am honored by this recognition and grateful for the support of UT Southwestern and our collaborators,” Dr. Zhang said. “I especially want to thank Dr. Beutler. The Center for the Genetics of Host Defense’s pioneering platform has enabled my lab to extend forward-genetic discovery into cardiometabolic disease.”