- Author: Kin Wai (Tony) Hung MD March 2025
Dr. Zhang’s advocacy gained national attention when she was invited as a panelist at the NCI President’s Cancer Panel on tech-enabled patient navigation. There, she powerfully highlighted the underrepresentation of immigrant voices in health equity conversations and emphasized the need for inclusive solutions. Drawing from interviews with patients and providers, Dr. Zhang brought to light the widespread and unresolved language access issues in cancer care—impacting over 21 million immigrants in the U.S. who report speaking English less than “very well.”
Dr. Tingting Zhang is a scientist-turned-advocate whose work embodies the intersection of innovation, equity, and lived experience. As the founder of Hear2Care, Dr. Zhang has advanced a mission to dismantle language barriers in cancer care for immigrant populations. Her advocacy has been shaped by both her scientific expertise and her personal experience as an Asian American navigating our healthcare system.
Through Hear2Care, she is addressing these disparities head-on. The initiative develops culturally relevant, multilingual cancer education materials that can be clearly heard and understood. Starting with the most commonly spoken languages and dialects among immigrant communities—including Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, Tagalog, Mandarin, Cantonese, Fuchow, Urdu and others—Hear2Care is using U.S. Census and ACS data to expand its scope, with a vision to reach all patients, regardless of language. She has also reached out to create a transcultural alliance of support for African immigrants.
In parallel, Dr. Zhang’s influence spans scientific and policy spaces. She has led cancer therapy management platforms recognized by the 2019 ASCO Breakthrough Award for “AI to improve patient outcomes” and serves as the Patient Advocate Lead for ASCO’s Palliative Care Community of Practice. Her background includes a PhD in cancer biology from Columbia University, a DARPA-commended postdoc at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and leadership roles in translational analytics at Roche and Eli Lilly.
Dr. Zhang exemplifies what it means to be a patient advocate: someone who turns insight into action, and systemic gaps into opportunities for change. Her work with Hear2Care has not only raised public awareness about the linguistic inequities in cancer care but has also mobilized collaborative efforts to produce scalable, tech-enabled solutions that center the patient voice—especially for those historically left out.