Lu Wang, PhD

Assistant Professor

Personal Statement:

Dr. Lu Wang’s research focuses on the epigenetic regulation of cell identity during development and in the response to stress during aging and age-related diseases. The ultimate goal is to develop novel strategies for promoting healthy aging and preventing age-related diseases.

Specifically, Dr. Wang’s laboratory investigates how different or aberrant epigenetic modifications contribute to the susceptibility to human diseases. Our research leverages cutting-edge genomic and epigenomic techniques, along with state-of-the-art methods in biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and various mouse models to tackle these questions.

Education

Year	Degree	Discipline	Institution
2010	BS	Life Sciences	Xiangya School of Medicine Central South University
2015	PhD	Genomics	Chinese Academy of Sciences
2017	Postdoctoral Fellowship		St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
2023	Postdoctoral Fellowship		University of Pennsylvania

Research

Our research aims to uncover the role of age-associated epigenetic alterations in the development of age-related diseases, such as metabolic disorders and cancer. We employ state-of-art techniques in biochemistry, molecular biology, multi-omics technologies, and genetically engineered mouse models. We are particularly interested in investigating the three-dimensional genome organization, as well as the regulation of DNA and histone modifications in aging and diseases. Ultimately, our long-term goal is to develop innovative strategies for promoting healthy aging and prevent age-associated diseases.

Awards & Accomplishments

K99/R00 NIH Pathway to Independence Award

CPRIT Award for the Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members

Publications

1.	Zhang C, Guo Z, Liu W, Kazama K, Hu L, Sun X, Wang L, Lee H, Lu L, Yang X, Summer R, Sun J (2023). PIMT is a novel and potent suppressor of endothelial activation. *eLife*, 12, e85754.
2.	Hao X, Shiromoto Y, Sakurai M, Towers M, Zhang Q, Wu S, Havas A, Wang L, Berger SL, Adams PD, Tian B, Nishikura K, Kossenkov AV, Liu P, Zhang R (2022). ADAR1 downregulation by autophagy drives senescence independently of RNA editing by enhancing p16^INK4a levels. *Nature Cell Biology*, 24, 1202-1210.
3.	Wang L#, Dou Z# (2022). Apolipoprotein E regulates chromatin stability and senescence. *Nature Aging*, 2, 282-284. (# Correspondence)
4.	Wang L, Xu C, Johansen T, Berger SL, Dou Z (2021). SIRT1 – a new mammalian substrate of nuclear autophagy. *Autophagy*, 17, 593-595.
5.	Xu C, Wang L, Fozouni P, Evjen G, Chandra V, Jiang J, Lu C, Nicastri M, Bretz C, Winkler JD, Amaravadi R, Garcia BA, Adams PD, Ott M, Tong W, Johansen T, Dou Z, Berger SL (2020). SIRT1 is downregulated by autophagy in senescence and ageing. *Nature Cell Biology, 22(10), 1170-1179. ( Equal contribution)
6.	Wang L, Hiler D, Xu B, AlDiri I, Chen X, Griffiths L, Valentine M, Shirinifard A, Sablauer A, Thiagarajan S, Barabas ME, Zhang J, Johnson D, Frase S, Dyer MA (2018). Retinal cell type DNA methylation and histone modifications predict reprogramming efficiency and retinogenesis in 3D organoid cultures. *Cell Reports*, 22, 2601-2614.
7.	Aldiri I, Xu B, Wang L, Chen X, Hiler D, Griffiths L, Valentine M, Shirinifard A, Thiagarajan S, Sablauer A, Barabas ME, Zhang J, Johnson D, Frase S, Zhou X, Easton J, Zhang J, Mardis ER, Wilson RK, Downing JR, Dyer MA, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (2017). The dynamic epigenetic landscape of the retina during development, reprogramming and tumorigenesis. *Neuron*, 94, 550-568.
8.	Wang L, Zhang J, Duan J, Gao X, Zhu W, Lu X, Yang L, Zhang J, Li G, Ci W, Li W, Zhou Q, Aluru N, Tang F, He C, Huang X, Liu J (2014). Programming and inheritance of parental DNA methylomes in mammals. *Cell*, 157, 979-991.
9.	Li G, Ci W, Karmakar S, Chen K, Dhar R, Fan Z, Guo Z, Zhang J, Ke Y, Wang L, Zhuang M, Hu S, Li X, Zhou L, Li X, Calabrese MF, Watson ER, Prasad SM, Rinker-Schaeffer C, Eggener SE, Stricker T, Tian Y, Schulman BA, Liu J, White KP (2014). SPOP promotes tumorigenesis by acting as a key regulatory hub in kidney cancer. *Cancer Cell*, 25, 1-14.
10.	Shen B, Zhang W, Zhang J, Zhou J, Wang J, Chen L, Wang L, Hodgkins A, Iyer V, Huang X, Skarnes WC (2014). Efficient genome modification by CRISPR-Cas9 nickase with minimal off-target effects. *Nature Methods*, 11, 399-402.
11.	Jiang L, Zhang J, Wang J, Wang L, Zhang L, Li G, Yang X, Ma X, Sun X, Cai J, Zhang J, Huang X, Yu M, Wang X, Liu F, Wu CI, He C, Zhang B, Ci W, Liu J (2013). Sperm, but not oocyte, DNA methylome is inherited by zebrafish early embryos. *Cell*, 153, 773-784.

https://scholars.uthscsa.edu/en/persons/lu-wang