Dr. Zhang’s research focuses on pathogenesis, antibody drug and vaccine development in the field of emerging and re-emerging human viral pathogens such as SARS‑CoV‑1/2, Ebola virus and other major viral infectious diseases. She is interested in three scientific topics: 1. protective antibody immunity in infected/vaccinated human individuals and co-evolution of viruses and antibodies, 2. precise decoding of immunological imprinting in repeated exposures and novel antigen design of effective vaccines, 3. mucosal immunity to prevent transmission and infection of respiratory viruses. Her research results have been published in Nature, Nature Immunology, Immunity, Nature Communications and other top-tier journals, with more than 7700 citations.

In 2024, she has been selected for inclusion in the Highly Cited Researcher^TM list from Clarivate^TM.