GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Jan. 29, 2025) — Van Andel Institute has recruited Bang-An Wang, Ph.D., a neuroscientist who studies brain development and the roots of progressive neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
As an assistant professor in VAI’s Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Wang will develop innovative single cell multi-omics technologies that help scientists investigate the nuanced molecular mechanisms that influence brain health. He hopes his discoveries will inform improved treatments for age-related brain diseases.
“The brain is a world built from countless building blocks. Its architecture comprises highly organized nuclei, billions of cells spanning thousands of distinct types and trillions of synaptic connections — all working together to create the remarkable complexity that is the human brain.” Wang said. “To truly understand it, we must leverage cutting-edge technologies such as single-cell genomics, epigenomics, chromatin architecture analysis and other advanced modalities. These tools will enable us to uncover how brain cells interact, function and adapt, which in turn will shed light on the aging process and mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases.”
Related: Learn more about Dr. Wang’s research ➔
Wang joins VAI from Salk Institute for Biological Studies. While there, he co-developed powerful tools that enable identification of epigenetic changes at single cell resolution in developing brain cells and cells with Alzheimer’s disease. Epigenetics are mechanisms that affect how the instructions in DNA are used without changing the DNA sequence itself. Although epigenetic errors can contribute to disease, they also are targets for new treatments.
Methods and resources developed by Wang and collaborators were employed in a series of high-impact consortium projects aimed at unraveling cellular diversity within the brain, including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Human Cell Atlas, the American Heart Association–Allen Initiative and the National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN Initiative.
Wang earned his B.S. in biochemistry from Shandong University and his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.