In Remembrance: Xiangzhi Meng, M.D., Ph.D.
MIMG lost an exceptional colleague, researcher, and friend, Dr. Xiangzhi Meng, on Sunday, March 13, 2022. Over the past three years, Xiangzhi fought a heroic battle with metastatic lung cancer. The courage and strength she summoned to endure treatments while maintaining her professional responsibilities and her duties as a wife and mother, is an inspiration to all.
Xiangzhi was a native of Shandong, China. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Medicine from Jining School of Medicine and her Ph.D. degree in Virology from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. She came to the United States in 2004 and began her professional career at UT Health SA as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Yan Xiang in our department. She excelled as a post-doc and in 2013 she joined the faculty as a Research Assistant Professor. Xiangzhi was a wonderful and kind colleague and an outstanding researcher. She authored or co-authored nearly 50 research papers, including eight publications on Covid-19 in the last two years, and she received recognition by several media outlets for her research (zika, pox, and MDS).
Xiangzhi was a wonderful wife, mother, and friend. She is survived by her husband of 30 years, Bo Yan, and teenage son, Ryan Yan. Details regarding services have not been announced.
Xiangzhi touched the lives of many, and she will be greatly missed. We will always carry her memory with us.