Five Things
Lu Wang
Assistant Professor
BY ANDREW FAUGHT
LU WANG IS HELPING TO UNLOCK the secrets of the brain. Her research focuses on the role of environmental stress and non-neuronal cells — that 85-billion cell corps that doesn’t conduct nerve impulses but supports the neurons that do — in developing treatments for ailments such as childhood brain tumors. She joined the Trojan Dental Family in mid-2024, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Gleeson Lab for Pediatric Brain Disease at UC San Diego. Here are five more things to know about one of our newest researchers.
1. WANG WAS CALLED TO THE SCIENCES FROM AN EARLY AGE.
Raised in Lanzhou, China, higher education runs in Wang’s blood. “Both of my parents are professors, so I knew when I was very young that I would continue that trajectory, and that never changed.” Wang holds a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology. While she considered doing postdoctoral research in immunology, she won a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Training Award in 2022 to study brain disorders at the Gleeson Lab. “I fell in love with it,” she says.
2. SWIMMING AND COFFEE HELP TO FUEL HER RESEARCH AMBITIONS.
Wang was a competitive swimmer throughout high school, her best race being the 50-meter sprint. She continues her water-loving ways, swimming up to three times a week to keep physically and mentally strong for her lab work. She fuels herself in other ways, too. “I’m a coffee addict. I used to know every coffee shop in San Diego. Hunting for coffee is fun, and I’ll try every type.”
3. WANG’S EFFORTS OCCUR AT THE EXCITING INTERFACE OF BIOLOGY AND RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES.
“Most of our knowledge in the field of pediatric brain disorders is from genetics and animal models, however, few treatments have been successfully delivered due to the unique features of the developing human brain.” During her postdoc training, she developed a novel stem cell-based model system, in which she integrates pericytes, which aid in blood vessel formation, into cortical organoids, 3-D structures derived from embryonic stem cells, to improve disease modeling.
4. TWO LIVES, TWO TEMPERAMENTS.
“I’m a very different person at work than in everyday life. When I’m with family and friends, I’m not the one to make the decisions about where to go to dinner. You’ll find me more chill in everyday life than while I’m at work doing science. At work, I want to be the person to make the decisions. I’m serious and critical. Daily life is for yourself, while science serves all of humanity.”
5. WANG WAS DRAWN TO USC FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH RESEARCHERS ACROSS THE DISCIPLINARY GAMUT.
Wang chose Ostrow for its diverse collaborations and its vision and commitment to translational medicine — which “translates” research findings into diagnostic tools, protocols, medicines, policies and education. “The Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology has good connections with other institutions on campus, including those focusing on stem cell research and neuroscience, which provide strong support to achieve my own research goals.”