Bei B Zhang

Bei B. Zhang is Vice President of Metabolic Research at Pfizer Worldwide Research, Development & Medical in Cambridge, MA. Since joining the Internal Medicine Research Unit in May 2017, she has been leading the research effort ranging from diabetes, cardiometabolism, and cachexia to technology platforms. In 2010 – 2017, Dr. Zhang was Vice President at Eli Lilly & Company and the founding General Manager and Site Head of the Lilly China Research and Development Center (LCRDC) in Shanghai, where she led the site to develop strategic vision and a pipeline of innovative drug candidates. Prior to joining Lilly, Dr. Zhang was the Franchise Site Lead of diabetes discovery research in Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, New Jersey. Dr. Zhang played a key role in the discovery, development, and global launches of sitagliptin (JANUVIA®) as a novel blockbuster for diabetes. She led teams to bring numerous drug candidates from the laboratory to clinical testing and human proof-of-concept during her tenure at Merck.

Dr. Zhang has an excellent track record of scientific accomplishment, illustrated by lectures at numerous scientific conferences and over 140 original articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, including Science, Nature Medicine, Cell Metabolism, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. She is regarded as a leading expert in the field of metabolism and in drug discovery and development. Dr. Zhang was elected to the Board of Directors of Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2013, and she also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Keystone Symposia. Dr. Zhang received her Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from Indiana University School of Medicine. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program (AMP187) of Harvard Business School.