Yuan Zhang

Yuan Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Iowa State University. Originally from Guangzhou, China, he earned his B.S. in Pharmaceutical Science and M.S. in Medicinal Chemistry from Peking University under the mentorship of Professor Yanxing Jia. He received his Ph.D. in 2020 from the University of Chicago, where he worked with Professor Scott Snyder on the total synthesis of complex natural products. Following his doctoral studies, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Professor Alison Wendlandt’s group, where he focused on developing photocatalytic transformations for the selective modification of chiral compounds.

Yuan began his independent academic career at Iowa State University in 2024. The Zhang Group is dedicated to developing innovative synthetic strategies and methods to streamline access to bioactive molecules.

When he's not thinking about chemistry, Yuan enjoys hiking, cooking, and playing fingerstyle guitar.