Associate Professor, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Phone: 903-877-5937
Email: yanyan.wang@uttyler.edu
Department: Cellular and Molecular Biology
YanYan Wang
Dr. Wang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine. She received her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree from Fudan University Shanghai College of Medicine (formerly Shanghai Medical University). She did her postdoctoral training at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Salk Institute and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Previously she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, and later an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Information Science at the University of Illinois College of Medicine (UICOM), and an affiliate member at Carl R. Woese Institute of Genomic Biology and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While at the UICOM, Urbana-Champaign, she received the Raymond B. Allen Instructorship Award (Golden Apple Award) multiple times. The Golden Apple Award is the highest praise given by medical students to a faculty member at the UICOM. She was an Associate Professor at the UT Tyler Fisch College of Pharmacy. After joining UT Tyler, she received the Faculty STARs Award from the University of Texas System.
Education and Training
- Research Associate, Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Salk Institute
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology and HHMI, Center for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- PhD, Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine
- BS, Fudan University Shanghai Medical College (Formerly, Shanghai Medical University)
Research Interests
Dr. Wang’s research focuses on: (i) deciphering the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders and metabolic disorders associated with dopaminergic systems (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, alcohol use disorder, opioid addiction, metabolic syndrome), and (ii) understanding the modulation of neuronal and synaptic plasticity (e.g., neuronal excitability, LTP and LTD). Our research themes extend from basic science to translational research. We use a multidisciplinary approach including molecular genetic analysis, pharmacological assays, electrophysiological recordings, and behavioral tests.
Course Taught
- Medical Pharmacology
- Molecular Neuroscience
- Integrated Pathophysiology and Pharmacology
Publication Highlights