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Linan Zhang has made significant contributions to the field of robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS), focusing on force sensing, haptic feedback, and intuitive control systems. Their key research areas include multi-degree-of-freedom force sensing for cable-driven surgical instruments, fuzzy logic control of continuum manipulators, and the development of low-cost, direct-manipulation master-slave systems. Zhang's most cited work, "Force sensing of multiple-DOF cable-driven instruments for minimally invasive robotic surgery" (44 citations), introduced a novel method to calculate operating forces from cable tension, overcoming size, friction, and sterilization constraints in robotic surgery. Another notable contribution is the application of fuzzy logic control to address nonlinear dynamics in continuum manipulators (17 citations), enhancing precision for surgical applications. Zhang also advanced haptic technology with a force-reflecting haptic device design (4 citations) and explored control strategies such as intuitive and scaling controls to improve surgeon dexterity. Their work on direct manipulation of tool-like masters (10 citations) offers a more accessible, cost-effective alternative to traditional robotic systems, reducing the learning curve for surgeons. Overall, Zhang's research has laid foundational work for safer, more intuitive, and affordable robotic surgical systems.