Academic Cancer Research

Thoracic Oncology | Translational Cancer Research | Precision Medicine

About Dr. Zhang

Jun Zhang, MD, PhD, is an internationally recognized physician scientist and academic leader in thoracic oncology and translational cancer research. He serves as the Petrakis Endowed Chair and vice president of oncology research at the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute, where he leads strategic scientific initiatives and advances precision oncology across the enterprise. He is also professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and adjunct professor at the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

Dr. Zhang completed his medical training at the Xiangya School of Medicine, earned a PhD in Cancer Biology from Louisiana State University, and pursued postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School and the University of California San Francisco, followed by a hematology/oncology fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. His career integrates foundational discovery with clinical translation, exemplified by his leadership in developing innovative investigator-initiated trials and advancing microbiota-informed cancer therapeutics.

He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, including many in high-impact journals such as Cancer Cell, Nature Communications, Clinical Cancer Research, JAMA Oncology, Molecular Cancer, Annals of Oncology, and The New England Journal of Medicine. A dedicated member of the global oncology community, Dr. Zhang contributes to AACR, ASCO, ESMO, IASLC, the Royal Society of Medicine, and Sigma Xi.

Dr. Zhang’s research program centers on three interconnected pillars: The role of the microbiota and its extracellular vesicles in lung cancer biology and immunotherapy; mechanisms of resistance in oncogene-driven non-small cell lung cancer; and the design of novel translational and interventional studies for thoracic malignancies. His work continues to shape emerging ideas at the interface of tumor immunology, microbiome science and precision medicine.

Selected Publications

• Preet, R., Islam, M. A., Shim, J., Rajendran, G., Mitra, A., Vishwakarma, V., Kutz, C., Chowdhury, S., Pathak, H., Dai, Q., Sun, W., Madan, R., Zhong, C., Markiewicz, M. A., & Zhang, J. (2025). Gut commensal Bifidobacterium-derived extracellular vesicles modulate the therapeutic effects of anti–PD-1 in lung cancer. Nature Communications, 16(1), Article 3500.
• Barlesi, F., Yao, W., Duruisseaux, M., Doucet, L., Martínez, A. A., Gregorc, V., Juan-Vidal, O., Lu, S., De Bondt, C., de Marinis, F., Linardou, H., Kim, Y. C., Jotte, R., Felip, E., Lo Russo, G., Reck, M., McKenzie, M. F., Yang, W., Meade, J. N., … Mok, T. S. K. (2025). Adagrasib versus docetaxel in KRAS(G12C)-mutated non–small-cell lung cancer (KRYSTAL-12): A randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial. The Lancet, 406(10503), 615–626.
• Zhou, C., Li, C., Luo, L., Li, X., Jia, K., He, N., Mao, S., Wang, W., Shao, C., Liu, X., Huang, K., Yu, Y., Cai, X., Chen, Y., Dai, Z., Li, W., Yu, J., Li, J., Shen, F., … Ren, S. (2024). Anti-tumor efficacy of HRS-4642 and its potential combination with proteasome inhibition in KRAS G12D-mutant cancer. Cancer Cell, 42(7), 1286–1300.e8.
• Takahashi, N., Hao, Z., Villaruz, L., Zhang, J., Ruiz, J., Petty, W. J., Mamdani, H., Riess, J. W., Nieva, J., Pacheco, J. M., Fuld, A. D., Shum, E., Chauhan, A., Nichols, S., Shimellis, H., McGlone, J., Sciuto, L., Pinkiert, D., Graham, C., … Thomas, A. (2023). Berzosertib plus topotecan vs topotecan alone in patients with relapsed small cell lung cancer: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Oncology, 9(12), 1669–1677.
• Jänne, P. A., Riely, G. J., Gadgeel, S. M., Heist, R. S., Ou, S. I., Pacheco, J. M., Johnson, M. L., Sabari, J. K., Leventakos, K., Yau, E., Bazhenova, L., Negrao, M. V., Pennell, N. A., Zhang, J., Anderes, K., Der-Torossia, H., Kheoh, T., Velastegui, K., Yan, X., … Spira, A. I. (2022). Adagrasib in non–small-cell lung cancer harboring a KRAS(G12C) mutation. New England Journal of Medicine, 387(2), 120–131.
• Jiang, T., Yan, Y., Zhou, K., Su, C., Ren, S., Li, N., Hou, L., Gui, X., Zhu, W., Zhang, H., Lin, J., Zhang, J., & Zhou, C. (2021). Characterization of evolution trajectory and immune profiling of brain metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma. NPJ Precision Oncology, 5(1), Article 6.
• Xu, K., Park, D., Magis, A. T., Zhang, J., Zhou, W., Sica, G. L., Ramalingam, S. S., Curran, W. J., & Deng, X. (2020). Small molecule KRAS agonist for mutant KRAS cancer therapy. Molecular Cancer, 19(1), Article 93.
• Bi, J., Yang, S., Li, L., Dai, Q., Borcherding, N., Wagner, B. A., Buettner, G. R., Spitz, D. R., Leslie, K. K., Zhang, J., & Meng, X. (2019). Metadherin enhances vulnerability of cancer cells to ferroptosis. Cell Death & Disease, 10(10), Article 682.
• Swami, U., Lenert, P., Furqan, M., Abu Hejleh, T., Clamon, G., & Zhang, J. (2018). Atezolizumab after nivolumab-induced inflammatory polyarthritis: Can anti–PD-L1 immunotherapy be administered after anti–PD-1-related immune toxicities? Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 13(6), e102–e103.
• Li, R., Ding, C., Zhang, J., Xie, M., Park, D., Ding, Y., Chen, G., Zhang, G., Gilbert-Ross, M., Zhou, W., Marcus, A. I., Sun, S. Y., Chen, Z. G., Sica, G. L., Ramalingam, S. S., Magis, A. T., Fu, H., Khuri, F. R., Curran, W. J., … Deng, X. (2017). Modulation of Bax and mTOR for cancer therapeutics. Cancer Research, 77(11), 3001–3012.

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View a complete list of Dr. Zhang’s published work on PubMed.

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GI and Skin Cancers | Medical Oncology | Genetics

About Dr. McWilliams

Robert McWilliams, MD, is an internationally recognized clinician, clinical trialist and leader in gastrointestinal oncology and skin cancers. He serves as deputy director of the OSF Cancer Institute, where he continues his clinical trials and outcomes research while helping transform cancer clinical practice.

Dr. McWilliams earned his medical degree, summa cum laude, from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University. He then completed a hematology/oncology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, along with a genetic epidemiology research fellowship and a master’s degree in clinical research.

He spent 20 years on the faculty at Mayo Clinic, rising to the rank of professor and serving in numerous leadership roles, including clinical practice chair of medical oncology, vice chair of oncology, deputy director of cancer practice, chair of the biospecimens subcommittee and chair of the therapeutic strategy subcommittee. He led the redesign of the medical oncology care model, optimizing each team member’s role to practice at the highest level of their training. He also expanded the cancer center’s patient navigator program, led the adoption of the Epic electronic health record for hematology and oncology, pioneered the use of patient-reported systems to address financial barriers and established the first precision oncology clinic.

Dr. McWilliams has authored more than 180 publications in high-impact journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, JAMA Oncology, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nature Genetics, Gut and Clinical Cancer Research. He has served in numerous national and international roles, including on the National Cancer Institute’s pancreatic cancer task force and GI cancers steering committee and as the U.S. lead for small bowel adenocarcinoma in the International Rare Cancers Initiative. His work with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network has included service on the board of directors, the finance committee, the electronic health records subcommittee and the best practices committee. He has also served on the Epic adult oncology advisory board.

His career has focused on using genetic information to advance patient care and leveraging emerging technology to improve cancer care at a population level. He believes technology can enhance prevention, detection and treatment while also strengthening the human experience for both patients and providers.

Selected Publications

• Schrag, D., Shi, Q., Weiser, M. R., Gollub, M. J., Saltz, L. B., Musher, B. L., Goldberg, J., Al Baghdadi, T., Goodman, K. A., McWilliams, R. R., Farma, J. M., George, T. J., Kennecke, H. F., Shergill, A., Montemurro, M., Nelson, G. D., Colgrove, B., Gordon, V., Venook, A. P., O’Reilly, E. M., Meyerhardt, J. A., Dueck, A. C., Basch, E., Chang, G. J., & Mamon, H. J. (2023). Preoperative treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 389(4), 322–334. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa230326
• Slostad, J. A., Liu, M. C., Allred, J. B., Erickson, L. A., Rumilla, K. M., Block, M. S., Keppen, M., King, D., Markovic, S. N., & McWilliams, R. R. (2021). BRAF V600 mutation detection in plasma cell-free DNA: NCCTG N0879 (Alliance). Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes, 5(6), 1012–1020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2021.05.00
• Pedersen, K. S., Foster, N. R., Overman, M. J., Boland, P. M., Kim, S. S., Arrambide, K. A., Jaszewski, B. L., Bekaii-Saab, T., Graham, R. P., Welch, J., Wilson, R. H., & McWilliams, R. R. (2021). ZEBRA: A multicenter phase II study of pembrolizumab in patients with advanced small-bowel adenocarcinoma. Clinical Cancer Research, 27(13), 3641–3648. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-0159
• Yadav, S., Kasi, P. M., Bamlet, W. R., Ho, T. P., Polley, E. C., Hu, C., Hart, S. N., Rabe, K. G., Boddicker, N. J., Gnanaolivu, R. D., Lee, K. Y., Lindstrom, T. H., Petersen, G. M., Couch, F. J., & McWilliams, R. R. (2020). Effect of germline mutations in homologous recombination repair genes on overall survival of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Clinical Cancer Research, 26(24), 6505–6512. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-1788
• Marabelle, A., Fakih, M., Lopez, J., Shah, M., Shapira-Frommer, R., Nakagawa, K., Chung, H. C., Kindler, H. L., Lopez-Martin, J. A., Miller, W. H., Jr., Italiano, A., Kao, S., Piha-Paul, S. A., Delord, J. P., McWilliams, R. R., Fabrizio, D. A., Aurora-Garg, D., Xu, L., Jin, F., Norwood, K., & Bang, Y. J. (2020). Association of tumour mutational burden with outcomes in patients with advanced solid tumours treated with pembrolizumab: Prospective biomarker analysis of the multicohort, open-label, phase 2 KEYNOTE-158 study. Lancet Oncology, 21(10), 1353–1365. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30445-9
• Meric-Bernstam, F., Hurwitz, H., Raghav, K. P. S., McWilliams, R. R., Fakih, M., VanderWalde, A., Swanton, C., Kurzrock, R., Burris, H., Sweeney, C., Bose, R., Spigel, D. R., Beattie, M. S., Blotner, S., Stone, A., Schulze, K., Cuchelkar, V., & Hainsworth, J. (2019). Pertuzumab plus trastuzumab for HER2-amplified metastatic colorectal cancer (MyPathway): An updated report from a multicentre, open-label, phase 2a, multiple basket study. Lancet Oncology, 20(4), 518–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30904-5
• Hu, C., Hart, S. N., Polley, E. C., Gnanaolivu, R., Shimelis, H., Lee, K. Y., Lilyquist, J., Na, J., Moore, R., Antwi, S. O., Bamlet, W. R., Chaffee, K. G., DiCarlo, J., Wu, Z., Samara, R., Kasi, P. M., McWilliams, R. R., Petersen, G. M., & Couch, F. J. (2018). Association between inherited germline mutations in cancer predisposition genes and risk of pancreatic cancer. JAMA, 319(23), 2401–2409. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.6228
• McWilliams, R. R., Allred, J. B., Slostad, J. A., Katipamula, R., Dronca, R. S., Rumilla, K. M., Erickson, L. A., Bryce, A. H., Joseph, R. W., Kottschade, L. A., King, D. M., Leitch, J. M., & Markovic, S. N. (2018). NCCTG N0879 (Alliance): A randomized phase 2 cooperative group trial of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab ± everolimus for metastatic melanoma. Cancer, 124(3), 537–545. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.31072
• Shroff, R. T., Hendifar, A., McWilliams, R. R., Geva, R., Epelbaum, R., Rolfe, L., Goble, S., Lin, K. K., Biankin, A. V., Giordano, H., Vonderheide, R. H., & Domchek, S. M. (2018). Rucaparib monotherapy in patients with pancreatic cancer and a known deleterious BRCA mutation. JCO Precision Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1200/PO.17.00316
• McWilliams, R. R., Foster, N. R., Mahoney, M. R., Smyrk, T. C., Murray, J. A., Ames, M. M., Horvath, L. E., Schneider, D. J., Hobday, T. J., Jatoi, A., Meyers, J. P., & Goetz, M. P. (2017). North Central Cancer Treatment Group N0543 (Alliance): A phase 2 trial of pharmacogenetic-based dosing of irinotecan, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine as first-line therapy for patients with advanced small bowel adenocarcinoma. Cancer, 123(18), 3494–3501. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.30766

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View a complete list of Dr. McWilliams’ published work on PubMed.

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Neurosurgical Oncology | Translational Neuro-Oncology | Metabolic Therapeutics

About Dr. Tsung

Andrew Tsung, MD, MBA, FAANS, is a physician-scientist and neurosurgical oncologist at OSF HealthCare. He serves as vice president of OSF HealthCare Illinois Neurological Institute (INI), where he leads the neurosurgery, neurology and physiatry divisions in strategic growth initiatives and daily operations. Dr. Tsung also serves as the Patrick Elwood Endowed Chair in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, and as program director of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP) Department of Neurosurgery Residency Program. In addition, he is codirector of the Molecular Translational Oncology Laboratory at UICOMP alongside Kiran Velpula, PhD.

Dr. Tsung earned his medical degree from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, graduating with Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) honors. He completed his neurosurgery residency at UICOMP and subsequently pursued fellowship training in neurosurgical oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center under the mentorship of pioneering neuro-oncologic surgeon Raymond Sawaya, MD. He later returned to the University of Illinois to complete an MBA focused on business analytics, aligning clinical and research strategy with the broader objectives of UICOMP and INI. To further support his research, he is also completing a Master of Science in Applied Physics at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Tsung’s research integrates metabolic therapeutics for high-grade glioma with the physical principles underlying cellular division. In the Molecular Translational Oncology Laboratory at UICOMP, his team studies metabolic checkpoints that regulate how cancer cells use and dissipate energy during cell division. High-grade gliomas often exploit adaptive metabolic bypass pathways to sustain growth and proliferation, and these mechanisms represent key therapeutic targets under investigation by Dr. Tsung and his team. This work has led to multiple research grants, peer-reviewed publications and a patent-pending therapeutic strategy involving 3-Phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) inhibitors for the treatment of glioblastoma.

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View a complete list of Dr. Tsung’s published work on PubMed.

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