Rate My Professor Yanan Zhao

Yanan (Nancy) Zhao, MD, PhD, is Professor of Pharmacy Practice in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Division of Clinical and Translational Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. She joined the University at Buffalo in March 2024 after more than 17 years dedicated to developing diagnostic assays for bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Zhao invented a diagnostic test for COVID-19 that received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Additionally, she developed a novel SARS-CoV-2 variant screening tool that was integrated into the New Jersey Department of Health’s COVID surveillance program. Her expertise spans molecular diagnostic testing development, with over 15 years of experience in this area. In 2024, she was promoted to full professor, recognizing her contributions to the field.

Zhao’s academic interests focus on creating rapid molecular diagnostics for infections and antimicrobial drug resistance, alongside pioneering drug discovery and development strategies against resistant pathogens. She serves as principal investigator on a $3.9 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to engineer novel antibiotics known as biamyxins (BMX), which exhibit potent activity against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria while maintaining low toxicity. She is also PI on a grant from Kathera Bioscience Incorporated for the in vivo evaluation of novel antifungal compounds and co-investigator on an NIH-funded project for innovative antibiotic combinations targeting hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae. Zhao has produced 65 research outputs, including key publications such as “Antifungal persistence: Clinical relevance and mechanisms” (PLOS Pathogens, 2025), “Carbapenem-Resistant, Virulence Plasmid–Harboring Klebsiella pneumoniae, United States” (Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2025), “Combatting mobile colistin-resistant (MCR), metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae persisters” (JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance, 2025), “Pharmacodynamic Evaluation of Adjuvant Targets: Low Molecular Weight PBP7/8 Effects on β-Lactam Activity Against Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii” (Pharmaceuticals, 2025), and “Affinity molecular assay for detecting Candida albicans using chitin affinity and RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a” (Nature Communications, 2024). Her research significantly influences advancements in combating antimicrobial resistance and improving infectious disease management.