Dr Zhang joined Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in September 2005 where she is now Tencent Professor of Engineering and Chair Professor of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. She is now also serving as the Acting Head of Division of Integrative System and Design (ISD) of HKUST. She is also serving as the co-director of Huawei-HKUST innovation lab, the director of digital life research center, and the director of Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) Information Technology Key Laboratory of HKUST. Before that, she was in Microsoft Research Asia, Beijing, from July 1999, where she was the research manager of the Wireless and Networking Group. 
Dr Zhang has published more than 400 refereed papers in international leading journals and key conferences. She is the inventor of more than 50 granted international patents. Her current research interests include Internet of Things (IoT), smart health, mobile computing and sensing, wireless networking, as well as cyber security.
She is a Fellow of the IEEE and a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Science (HKAES). Dr Zhang has received MIT TR100 (MIT Technology Review) world's top young innovator award. She received the Best Paper Awards in several international conferences. Dr Zhang served as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Trans. on Mobile Computing (TMC) from 2020 to 2022. She is a member of Steering Committee of IEEE Infocom and IEEE Trans. on Games. 
Dr Zhang received the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Wuhan University, China, in 1994 and 1999, respectively, all in computer science.