Work – Ellen Zhang

Featured Research

	Williams Lab, Henry Ford Health Systems: Ellen analyzed genetic differences in various asthma medication response. Previously, her project consisted of researching the genome-wide association study of 8,000+ asthma patients of Caucasian, African American, African Caribbean, and Latino ancestry to identify genetic markers. Her most recent project looked into precision treatment of asthma.
	Schwarzschild Lab, MGH: As a Harvard Program for Research in Science and Engineering fellow (summer 2018) and Harvard College Research Program Fellow, Ellen analyzed purine biomarkers, specifically urate levels, of Parkinson’s Disease using Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative. In addition, Ellen studied the effect of Edaravone, a novel drug currently used to treat ALS, in M. musculus. Supplementing her research, she shadowed Dr. Schwarzschild in the MGH Neurology Department.
	Alianza Arkana: As a Cordeiro Fellow, Ellen interned in Peru running and analyzing the impact of indigenous women’s health literacy workshops in the Shipibo-Conibo community. After multiple interviews and quantitative surveys, she distilled issue of high rates of cervical cancer and low rates of Pap smears into four main barriers and challenges. Through her Global Health and Health Policy research course (GHHP91r), Ellen wrote a 30-paper paper for and presented findings to the Cordeiro Fellow Event.
	Lee Lab, Harvard Stem Cell Institute: As a Harvard Program for Research in Science and Engineering fellow (summer 2017) and Harvard College Research Program Fellow (2x), Ellen researched the role of Arrdc3 in obesity with in vitro and in vivo experiments using M. musculus as a model system. For Ellen’s project of which she is the second author, they generated mice with conditional deletion of Arrdc3 in adipose tissues.

Selected Scientific Publications

Ellen Zhang, Albert M. Levin & L. Keoki Williams (2019) How does race and ethnicity effect the precision treatment of asthma?, Expert Review of Precision Medicine and Drug Development, 4:6, 337-356

Bakshi, Rachit; Macklin, Eric; Xia, Ning ; Crotty, Grace; Zhang, Ellen; Zorlu, Musab; Logan, Robert; Chen, Xiqun; Ascherio, Albert; Schwarzschild, Michael. Higher urate in LRRK2 mutation carriers resistant to Parkinson’s disease. Annals of Neurology. 2019.

Carroll, Shannon; Zhang, Ellen; Wang, Bing; LeClair, Katherine; Rahman, Arifeen; Cohen, David; Plutzky, Jorge; Patwari, Parth; Lee, Richard. Adipocyte arrestin domain-containing 3 protein (Arrdc3) regulates uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) expression in white adipose independently of canonical changes in beta-adrenergic receptor signaling. PLOS ONE. 2017.

Featured Public Service

	Harvard College Interviewer: Ellen serves as a Harvard College interviewer in Boston where she reviews applicant files, gets to know students, and assess their abilities on behalf of the Harvard Selection Committee.
	Alianza Arkana: As a Weissman Fellow, Ellen understood the inner-workings of a nonprofit through managing communication avenues, working on the website in both Spanish and English, and finding grant funding sources.
	Phillips Brooks House Association: PBHA is a student-run nonprofit servicing 10,000+ people in Boston-Cambridge area through various programming. As Secretary (1 of 20 officers), Ellen lead weekly Communications Committees, revised endorsement policy, spearheaded a drip marketing campaign, designed monthly newsletters, updated social media platforms, and more.
	National Alzheimer’s Buddies: On the Advocacy & Public Relations Committee, Ellen facilitates communications and best practice sharing between 12 chapters and the national 501(c)(3).
	Harvard College Alzheimer’s Buddies: This program at Hebrew Senior Life, allows students to build one-on-one relationships with Alzheimer Disease patients. Ellen led the 2017 & 2019 National Alzheimer’s Symposium with Meredith Vieira as host. As Director, she managed daily operations (e.g. applying for grants, budgeting), initiated partnership with Music & Memory, doubled volunteer numbers to approximately 60, and more.
	An Evening with Champions: EWC is an annual ice skating show raising money for pediatric cancer care and research. As Treasurer of the 501(c)(3), Ellen managed funds for a committee of the Dana Farber Jimmy Fund (revenue of $40,000) and initiated new partnerships.
	Quincy House Public Service Representative, Harvard College: Ellen collaborated with students and staff to bring service into my residential community by planning events (e.g. Institute of Politics Fellows dinners, packaging donated dining hall food) and bring resources to students. With a Quincy House Tutor, Ellen organized workshops helping students think critically about their futures (e.g. 100 Jobs, Design Your Life Series).

Featured Teachings

	LabXchange: LabXchange is a learning tool for students to learn biology and technology set to launch in fall 2019. As a collaborator, Elen helps curate, organize, and streamline various resources and teaching tools. Her current project is utilizing a Animator to design moves on concepts, such as SDS-PAGE and protein membranes.
	HVIET: Ellen taught “Modern Civilization and the Rise of Heart Disease” (Hanoi, 2018) and “Journalism Through the Time” (Ho Chi Minh, 2019) seminar for 2 weeks to introduce an liberal arts education to Vietnamese high school students. She also facilitated community among 120 students through summer camp style activities.
	Program for Scientifically Inspired Leadership: This program, all-expenses paid, is sponsored by The South Asian Institution of Harvard and Lamjingba group in Manipur. PSIL brings liberal arts education to a local high school in Manipur, India with around 60 student participants. For a week and a half, Ellen taught a seminar on social justice, workshops on poetry, and led active discussions. More information here.
	Physics Teaching Assistant: Ellen helped run two courses (PHYSCI2: Mechanics, Elasticity, Fluids, and Diffusion & PHYSCI3: Electromagnetism, Circuits, Waves, Optics, and Imaging) of approximately 200 students. She directly taught around 20 students, graded problem sets and exams, and held weekly office hours.
	Life Sciences 1A: As Facilitator of LS1A course (300 students), Ellen held study network sessions and office hours. She helped students understand a range of topics topics: chemical equilibrium, thermodynamics, central dogma, and mechanisms of HIV.