College of Medicine

- Admissions Overview
- - MD Program
    UNMC's rigorous academics, diverse clinical experiences and supportive environment put you on the path to becoming a skilled, compassionate physician.
  - How to Apply
    UNMC prepares medical degree students to meet the needs of patients through clinical practice, biomedical science and research, problem-solving and compassion.
  - Contact Us
    Review contact information for the Office of Admissions and Student Affairs in the College of Medicine at UNMC.
  - Verification and State Licensure
    Review opportunities for state licensure following completion of the MD program in the College of Medicine at UNMC.
- - MD-MBA Program
    A combined MD-MBA degree equips you with the tools you need to become highly skilled in both management and medicine.
  - MD-MPH Program
    Pursue your passion for public health and medicine with a combined MD-MPH and help solve complex health problems.
  - MD-PhD Program
    Do you have a passion for caring for patients and for research? Consider the dual MD-PhD degree.
- Education Overview
- - Curriculum
    Our curriculum produces physicians whose foundation in basic, clinical, and health systems sciences prepare them to promote health and reduce patient suffering.
  - Graduation Requirements
    Review requirements for students pursuing an MD at the UNMC College of Medicine to graduate and receive their degree.
  - Objectives
    The objectives of UNMC's medical degree program are to prepare you for success in primary care or specialty fields.
  - Service Learning
    Active participation in community service provides critical opportunities to apply skills and knowledge gained in medical school and develop a sense of empathy.
- - Enhanced Medical Education
    Enhanced Medical Education Tracks offer medical students an opportunity to perform an in-depth study of an interdisciplinary field of medicine.
  - Enhanced Medical Education Tracks
    EMET applicants are selected for Tracks based on their interest in the topic and motivation to complete work above and beyond the primary MD curriculum.
  - MD Honor’s Thesis Program
    The MD honors thesis encourages students to engage in scientific research during medical education and become eligible to graduate with honors.
- Research Overview
- Internal Grants
  The College of Medicine has a variety of research-related grant and award opportunities available to UNMC faculty.
- Comparative Effectiveness Research
  The Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) program identifies knowledge gaps in the effectiveness of clinical care and improves CER in these areas.
- Great Plains IDeA-CTR
  The Great Plains IDeA-CTR is a collaborative effort between nine regional institutions that provides training, resources. and funding to regional researchers.
- Research and Development Committee
  The Research and Development Committee handles funding opportunities for faculty, including the Bridge Funding program, and student research opportunities.
- Student Opportunities
  The College of Medicine provides a variety of research opportunities for both current and prospective UNMC students.
- Residencies & Fellowships Overview
- Graduate Medical Education Programs
  UNMC's dozens of programs--including nearly 20 in internal medicine--allow residents and fellows a variety of specialties.
- House Officer Resources
  Find information for residents and fellows, including salaries, benefits and nearby housing.
- House Officer Wellness
  Wellness resources for residents and fellows include an assistance program and a private wellness lounge.
- Research
  We aim to facilitate house officers’ involvement in research in the areas of patient safety, quality improvement, healthcare disparities and education research.
- Salary and Benefits
  Paid vacation and professional leave, health insurance and meal allowances are just a few of the benefits residents receive in addition to their yearly salary.
- Contact Us
  Reach out to the Graduate Medical Education office for information about benefits, contracts, orientation or graduation.
Departments

— College of Medicine — Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology — Faculty — Pengwei Zhang, PhD

Pengwei Zhang, PhD

Assistant Professor, UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology

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Pengwei Zhang, PhD

Pengwei Zhang, PhD, is an assistant professor in the UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology.

As a passionate and experienced virologist, she specialize in virus-cell interactions during intracellular virus trafficking. She is committed to unraveling the molecular mechanisms behind tumor virus infections, employing diverse approaches in molecular virology, cell biology, biochemistry and biophysics.

Her goal is to develop strategies for and approaches to the prevention and treatment of tumor virus infections.

Education & Training

BS: Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, China, 1997.
MS: Medicine in pathogenic microorganism, School of Medicine, Wuhan University, China, 2001.
PhD: Biology, Rensselaer Polytechic Institute, Troy, New York, 2015.
Postdoctoral Training: Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 2020.
Associate Research Scientist, Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 2021.

Research

We are interested in how viruses exploit cellular machinery during intracellular trafficking to cause infection. The long-term goal is to discover novel targets or approaches to prevent or treat viral infections. Our current studies aim to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of how human papillomavirus (HPV) - which is responsible for almost all cervical cancers and many other anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers - exploits the retrograde transport pathway for infectious virus entry.

Expertise/Area of Focus

Virus-cell interactions during intracellular virus trafficking

Honors & Awards

Travel Award, American Society for Virology’s 38th conference, 2019.
Provost's Initiative for Retention of Underrepresented Faculty Award, Old Dominion University, 2021.

Professional Memberships

American Society of Virology