Profile

Dr. Wang earned his Bachelor's degree from HeBei Medical University in 1992, and received his Ph.D. from Second Military Medical University in 1998. He went on to become an Assistant Professor, then an Associate Professor and subsequently, the Chair of the Department of Naval Hygiene at Second Military Medical University until 2002. From 2002 to 2004, Dr. Wang completed further postdoctoral training in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Biochemistry, University of Missouri-Columbia. He went on to serve as an Instructor at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital in Boston. In 2008, Dr. Wang was appointed as a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition and Food Science, University of Florida.  Dr. Wang then joined the Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences as a Principal Investigator and the head of the Laboratory of Mineral Molecular Nutrition where he served from 2009 until 2012. Currently, Dr. Wang is a Professor and Dean at the School of Public Health, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.

Dr. Wang’s laboratory is mainly focused on investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolism of the trace elements iron and zinc by applying zebrafish and knockout mice models, as well as human epidemiology. Recently, the Wang lab has begun studying the impact of heavy metal pollution on food safety. Dr. Wang has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in Nature Genetics, Nature, Blood, Hepatology, Human Molecular Genetics, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, and The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Dr. Wang’s recent significant findings are: 1) By analyzing mice lacking Fpn1 specifically in macrophages, solid data were found to support the critical role of Fpn1 in macrophage iron release and in modulating innate immune responses (Blood, 2011); 2) Fpn1 was functionally characterized to be a major iron exporter in hepatocytes, and hepatocyte Fpn1 was further defined as one of the important players in iron mobilization, iron storage, and intestinal iron absorption for maintenance of systemic iron homeostasis (Hepatology, 2012); 3) The type IV mucolipidosis-associated protein (TRPML1) was identified as an Fe2+ release channel from late endosomes and lysosomes (Nature, 2008). Further, a novel protein Mon1a was shown to be involved in multiple steps of intracellular trafficking, and affects cellular iron metabolism in an Fpn1-dependent manner (Nature Genetics, 2007). 4) A significant association between TMPRSS6 polymorphisms and decreased iron status was defined, and genetic risk factors for iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia were refined (Hum Mol Genet, 2012); 5) TMPRSS6 variants, which were mediated by ferritin, were discovered and shown to be significantly associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in the Chinese Han population (Am J Clin Nutr 2012).  Combined, these findings have broadened our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the finely tuned balance of bio-metal metabolism and related human disorders. Furthermore, these discoveries may provide a solid foundation for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for bio-metal-related diseases.

Select Publications ( * Corresponding author)
（* 通讯作者）
1. Guan Y#, An P#, Zhang Z, Zhang F, Yu Y, Wu Q, Shi Y, Guo X, Tao Y, Wang F*. Screening identifies the Chinese medicinal plant Caulis Spatholobi as an effective HAMP expression inhibitor. Journal of Nutrition, 2013 May 22 as doi: 10.3945/jn.113.174201. [Epub ahead of print]
2. Guo X, Zhang Z, Zhang F, Tao Y, An P, Wu Q, Wang C, Knutson MD, and Wang F*. Fine-mapping and genetic analysis of the loci affecting hepatic iron overload in mice. PLoS ONE. 2013 May 10;8(5):e63280. Print 2013.
3. Guo X#, Zhou DZ#, An P#, Wu Q, Wang H, Wu A, Mu M, Zhang D, Zhang Z, Wang H, He L, Liu Y*, Wang F*. Associations between serum hepcidin, ferritin, hemoglobin, and type 2 diabetes risks in a Chinese Han population. British Journal of Nutrition, 2013 in press
4. Yu Y#, Wu A#, Zhang Z, Yan G, Zhang F, Zhang L, Shen X, Hu R, Zhang Y*, Zhang K*, Wang F*. Characterization of the GufA Subfamily Member SLC39A11/Zip11 as a Zinc Transporter. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 2013, doi:pii: S0955-2863(13)00055-7. 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2013.02.010. [Epub ahead of print]
5. Zhang Z, Zhang F, Guo X, An P, Tao Y, Wang F*. Ferroportin1 in hepatocytes and macrophages is required for the efficient mobilization of body iron stores. Hepatology, 2012 Sep;56(3):961-71
6. Jeong J, Walker J , Wang F, J. Park G, Palmer A, Giunta C, Rohrbach M, Steinmann B, Eide DJ. Promotion of vesicular zinc efflux by ZIP13 and its implications for spondylocheiro dysplastic Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012 Dec 18;109(51):E3530-8
7. Zhang Z, Zhang F, An P, Guo X, Shen Y, Tao Y, Wu Q, Zhang Y, Yu Y, Ning B, Nie G, Knutson MD, Anderson GJ and Wang F*. Ferroportin1 deficiency in mouse macrophages impairs iron homeostasis and inflammatory responses. Blood. 2011 Aug 18;118(7):1912-22
8. An P, Wu Q, Wang H, Guan Y, Mu M, Liao Y, Zhou D, Song P, Wang C, Meng L, Man Q, Li L, Zhang J, Wang F*. TMPRSS6, but not TF, TFR2, or BMP2 Variants are Associated with Increased Risk of Iron Deficiency Anemia. Human Molecular Genetics. 2012 May 1;21(9):2124-31
9. Zhang F, Tao Y, Zhang Z, Guo X, An P, Shen Y, Wu Q, Yu Y, Wang F*. Metalloreductase Steap3 coordinates the regulation of iron homeostasis and inflammatory responses. Haematologica. 2012 Dec;97(12):1826-35
10. Gan W, Guan Y, Wu Q, An P, Zhu J, Lu L, Jing L, Yu Y, Ruan S, Xie D, Makrides M, Gibson RA, Anderson GJ, Li H*, Lin X* and Wang F*. Association of TMPRSS6 polymorphisms with ferritin, hemoglobin and type 2 diabetes risk in a Chinese Han population. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2012 Mar;95(3):626-32
11. Yan G, Zhang Y, Yu J, Yu Y, Zhang F, Zhang Z, Wu A, Yan X, Zhou Y, Wang F*. Slc39a7/zip7 Plays a Critical Role in Development and Zinc Homeostasis in Zebrafish. PLoS ONE. 2012;7(8):e42939
12. Sun L#, Yu Y#, Huang T#, An P, Yu DX, Yu ZJ, Li HX, Sheng HG, Cai L, Xue J, Jing M, Li YX*, Lin X* and Wang F*. Associations between ionomic profile and metabolic abnormalities in human population. PLoS ONE. 2012;7(6):e38845
13. Anderson GJ and Wang F. Essential but toxic: Controlling the flux of iron in the body. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2012 Aug;39(8):719-24 (Invited review)
14. Guo L, Lichten LA, Ryu MS, Liuzzi JP, Wang F and Cousins RJ. STAT5-glucocorticoid receptor interaction and MTF-1 regulate the expression of ZnT2 (Slc30a2) in pancreatic acinar cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2010 Feb 16;107(7):2818-23
15. Feng YX, Zhao JS, Li JJ, Wang T, Cheng SQ, Yuan Y, Wang F, Wang XF, Xie D. Liver cancer: EphrinA2 promotes tumorigenicity through Rac1/Akt/NF-kappaB signaling pathway. Hepatology. 2010 Feb; 51(2):535-44
16. Mills Eric, Dong XP, Wang F and Xu HX. Mechanisms of Brain Iron Transport: Insight into Neurodegeneration and CNS Disorders. Future Medical Chemistry. 2010 Jan;2(1):51-64 ( Invited review)
17. Dong XP, Cheng XP, Mills E, Delling M, Wang F and Xu H. The Type IV Mucolipidosis-Associated Protein TRPML1 is an Endo-lysosomal Iron Release Channel. Nature. 2008 Oct 16;455(7215):992-996
18. Wang F, Paradkar PN, Custodio AO, Ward DM, Fleming MD, Campagna D, Roberts KA, Boyartchuk V, Dietrich WF, Kaplan J, and Andrews NC. Genetic variation in Mon1a protein trafficking modifies macrophage iron loading in mice. Nature Genetics. 2007 Aug;39(8):1025-32
19. Liu S, Suragani RNVS, Wang F, Han A, Zhao W, Fleming MD, Andrews NC and Chen JJ. Deficiency of Heme-Regulated eIF2α Kinase Attenuates Macrophage Maturation Inflammatory Response and Iron Homeostasis. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2007:117(11):3296-305
20. Wang F, Lothrop AP, James NG, Griffiths TAM, Lambert LA, Leverence R, Kaltashov IA, Andrews NC, Macgillivray RTA and Mason AB. A novel murine protein with no effect on iron homeostasis is homologous to transferrin and is the putative inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase. Biochemical Journal. 2007;406(1):85-95
21. Mao XQ, Kim BE, Wang F, Eide DJ and Petris MJ. A histidine-rich cluster mediates the ubiquitination and degradation of the human zinc transporter, hZIP4, and protects against zinc cytotoxicity. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2007;282(10):6992-7000
22. Lim JE, Jin O, Bennett C, Morgan K, Wang F, Trenor III CC, Gilliland DG, Fleming MD and Andrews NC. A mutation in Sec15l1 causes anemia in hemoglobin deficit (hbd) mice. Nature Genetics. 2005;37: 1270-73
23. Mathews W, Wang F, Eide DJ and Van Doren M. Drosophila fear of intimacy encodes a ZIP family zinc transporter functionally related to mammalian ZIP proteins. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2005;280(1):787-95
24. Wang F, Kim BE, Dufner-Beattie J, Andrews GK, Petris MJ and Eide DJ. Acrodermatitis enteropathica mutations affect transport activity, localization, and zinc-responsive trafficking of the mouse Zip4 zinc transporter. Human Molecular Genetics.  2004;13(5):563-71
25. Wang F, Dufner-Beattie J, Kim BE, Petris MJ, Andrews GK and Eide DJ. Zinc-stimulated endocytosis controls activity of the mouse ZIP1 and ZIP3 zinc uptake transporters. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2004;279(23):24631-39
26. Wang F, Kim BE, Petris MJ and Eide DJ. The mammalian ZIP5 protein is a zinc transporter that localizes to the basolateral surface of polarized cells. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2004;279(49):51433-41
27. Ellis CD, Wang F, MacDiarmid CW, Clark S, Lyons T and Eide DJ. Zinc and Msc2 zinc transporter protein are required for endoplasmic reticulum function. The Journal of Cell Biology. 2004;166(3):325-35
28. Kim BE, Wang F, Dufner-Beattie J, Andrews GK, Eide DJ and Petris MJ. Zn2+-stimulated endocytosis of the mZIP4 zinc transporter regulates its location at the plasma. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 279(6):4523-30
29. Dufner-Beattie J, Wang F, Kou YM, Gitschier J, Eide DJ and Andrews GK. The Acrodermatitis Enteropathica gene ZIP4 encodes a tissue-specific, zinc-regulated, zinc transporter in mice. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2003;278(35): 33474-81
30. Dufner-Beattie J, Langmade SJ, Wang F, Eide DJ and Andrews GK. Structure, function, and regulation of a subfamily of mouse zinc transporter genes. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2003;278(50): 50142-50
31. Wang F, Bian W, Kong, L., Zhao F, Guo J, Jing, N. Maternal Zinc Deficiency Impairs Brain Nestin Expression in Prenatal and Postnatal Mice. Cell Research. 2001;11(2): 135-41