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Pei Wang

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wangp3@uthscsa.edu

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Research profile

Pei Wang, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy

Currently seeking M.S. & Ph.D. students

Dr. Pei Wang's lab is focused on the two major diseases of the pancreas: diabetes which involves the endocrine tissue and PDAC (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma), a cancer of the exocrine pancreas that is notorious for its dismal prognosis.  

Our lab has established a novel model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) which allows us to use normal human pancreatic cells to model human PDAC to identify human-specific aspects of PDAC. Our research of PDAC expands to many areas, including developing interventions to block the pancreatitis-facilitated neoplasia of oncogenic KRAS; identifying lineage-specific genes and signaling pathways responsible for PDAC tumorigenesis; testing whether the various mutations found in patients are drivers or passengers; identifying specific markers of premalignant lesions that can serve as prognostic markers; and investigating the influence of the tumor environment on PDAC development.

We discovered a critical role for the Hippo signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of pancreatitis using genetic engineered mouse model. This was somewhat unexpected as this pathway had been previously implicated in regulating organ size but not in fibrosis and inflammation. Using our mouse model, we revealed that the Hippo pathway does contribute to fibrosis and inflammation in the pancreas, a condition known as pancreatitis. In humans, this is a costly and painful disease that is the top risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Thus, it is very important to investigate how the Hippo pathway is involved. 

  • Professional Background

    Education

    • 2010 - postdoctoral training - Pancreas development and stem cell differentiati - Stanford University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
    • 2004 - PhD - Molecular and Cellular Biology - Baylor College of Medicine
    • 1993 - MS - Cell Biology - Shanghai Institute of Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Science
    • 1990 - BS - Biochemistry - East China University of Science and Technology

    Highlights

    Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas  First-time Tenure-Track Faculty Award

    Rising Star Award: UT System

    Appointments

    • 10/2012 - Member - Barshop Institute of AgingSan Antonio
    • 9/2012 - Assistant Professor - The University of Health San Antonio, Cell Systems and Anatomy, San Antonio
    • 9/2012 - Member - Cancer Therapy and Research Center, UTHSA

  • Instruction & Training

    • 11/2017 - Present, Cancer Biology Core II, The University of Texas Health Science Center
    • 9/2016 - Present, Masters' Thesis Directed, UTHSCSA
    • 9/2016 - Present, Masters' Thesis Directed, UTHSCSA
    • 1/2016 - Present, Cancer Biology Core I (Molecular Oncology), The University of Texas Health Science Center
    • 3/2015 - Present, Ph.D. Dissertations Directed, UTHSCSA
    • 6/2013 - Present, Post-Doctoral Student Supervision, UTHSCSA
    • 4/2014 - Present, Stem Cell Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center
    • 3/2014 - Present, Ph.D. Dissertations Directed, UTHSCSA
    • 3/2014 - Present, CSBL 5023 Development, UTHSCSA
    • 5/2013 - Present, Post-Doctoral Student Supervision, UTHSCSA
    • 12/2012 - Present, INTD 5000, UTHSCSA

  • Research & Grants

    Animal Models, Gastrointestinal Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Tumor initiation

    Cancer Development and Progression Program

    Research profile

    Grants

    Federal

    R01DK115696 (PI: Wang P)  09/01/2017 - 8/31/2022                     

    NIDDK                                                              The Hippo signaling pathway in pancreatic epithelial cells orchestrate the inflammatory response

    The major goal of this grant is to study function of Hippo pathway in normal pancreas using mouse genetic model.

    R01 CA237159 (PI: Wang P)                         03/01/2020 - 2/28/2025                     

    NCI                                                                  Mechanisms of pancreatic cancer initiation and progression from normal human pancreatic tissue

     R21 CA245437 (PI: Wang P)                         02/01/2020 - 1/31/2022         

    NCI        

    Identify tumor suppressor driver genes of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

    State

    Funding Agency CPRIT Title Engineer pancreatic cancer cells Status Complete Period 9/2012 - 8/2017 Role Principal Investigator Grant Detail CPRIT 1st Time Recruitment Award to support the research on pancreatic cancer by establishing novel cancer model using the normal primary human pancreatic tissue.

  • Service

    Department

    01/2017-Present    Faculty forward committee     Member

    01/2014-Present    The Master Student Admissions Committee, UTHSCSA     Member

    01/2014-Present     The Equipment Committee    Member

     

    School

    01/2018-Present      Cancer Biology discipline, deputy director

  • Publications