Barry (Yingchun) Wang, PhD

Dr. Wang received his Ph.D from Iowa State University (2003) in Genetics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology under the direction of Drs. Parag Chitnis and Suresh Kothari.  During his graduate work he studied the thylakoid membrane proteome of the photosynthetic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. He systematically identified thylakoid membrane proteins using 2-D electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, and functionally studied a novel protein (Slr0110) that plays a critical role in photosynthesis using reverse genetics. His work resulted in publication of several peer-review articles.

Dr. Wang was hired as a Postdoc fellow 4 years ago to develop a functional proteomics and computational biology program in the Klemke laboratory and he has done a remarkable job.  Dr. Wang is an expert in proteomics, informatics, and molecular cell biology.  Dr Wang’s research interests are in understanding the complex signaling networks that control cell migration and metastasis and the chemokine gradient sensing mechanisms that direct these processes.  His work utilizes an impressive list of state-of-the-art technologies including quantitative large-scale mass spectrometry and protein identification technologies. He also has exceptional computer programming and informatics skills which he has used to develop several important software programs (BlastPro and PhosphoBlast).  These programs have been instrumental in analyzing the spatial organization of the pseudopodial proteome and phosphoproteomes of invasive cancer cells.  His work in this area has provided unique insight into the complex signaling networks that operate in migrating cells and has uncovered possible new biomarkers of cancer metastasis.  It is not surprising that his work has been published in the top ranking journals Molecular Cell Proteomics, Journal of Proteome Research, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).  His most recent work on cell chemotaxis published in PNAS was reviewed by Faculty of 1000 where it received a high 6.0 score and a must read rating.  Based on his outstanding achievements he was awarded a Susan G. Komen postdoctoral fellowship and an invitation to speak at this years AACR meeting.

Another important attribute that Dr Wang possesses is the wherewithal and skills to functionally validate key proteomic/informatics findings in cell and animal models of cell migration and metastasis using various gene knockdown and molecular biology techniques.  This is truly exceptional as most proteomic/informatics experts do not pursue functional validation of their findings leaving the physiological relevance in question.  Using this approach, he discovered a new tyrosine kinase (pseudopodial-enriched atypical kinase 1, PEAK1) that mediates cell migration and invasion.  PEAK1 is amplified in 70% of highly metastastic colon cancers and is a good candidate for therapeutic development.  Informatics and functional testing have placed PEAK1 in the canonical FAK/CAS/Crk/Rac pathway that controls the actin cytoskeleton.  He is now investigating the mechanism of PEAK1-mediated cancer metastasis in vivo using animal models of cancer progression. This work is being prepared for publication in a high ranking journal.

In summary, Dr. Wang’s ability to utilize quantitative mass spectrometry to characterize the proteome of invasive cancer cells, utilize computational programs to understand the inter relationship of thousands of proteins, and the ability to functionally test key observations using cell-based systems truly sets him apart from his peers.  He has been exceptionally productive over the last four years having published 6 manuscripts and 3 of these are first author publications in top ranking journals.  He is a highly valued and well-liked member of our research team and the Department.  He is a vital member of our research team providing senior leadership and guidance to students and research technicians.  Dr. Wang has also been very active in the research community and has established important collaborations with leaders in the fields of proteomics (Drs. John Yates and Richard Smith), cell biology (Drs. Mark Ginsberg and Tom Parsons), and informatics (Drs. Vineet Bafna and Shankar Subramaniam). We foresee Dr. Wang playing an important role in integrating the new Dr. Wang received his Ph.D from Iowa State University (2003) in Genetics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology under the direction of Drs. Parag Chitnis and Suresh Kothari.  During his graduate work he studied the thylakoid membrane proteome of the photosynthetic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. He systematically identified thylakoid membrane proteins using 2-D electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, and functionally studied a novel protein (Slr0110) that plays a critical role in photosynthesis using reverse genetics. His work resulted in publication of several peer-review articles.

I hired Dr. Wang as a Postdoc fellow 4 years ago to develop a functional proteomics and computational biology program in my laboratory and he has done a remarkable job.  Dr. Wang is an expert in proteomics, informatics, and molecular cell biology.  Dr Wang’s research interests are in understanding the complex signaling networks that control cell migration and metastasis and the chemokine gradient sensing mechanisms that direct these processes.  His work utilizes an impressive list of state-of-the-art technologies including quantitative large-scale mass spectrometry and protein identification technologies. He also has exceptional computer programming and informatics skills which he has used to develop several important software programs (BlastPro and PhosphoBlast).  These programs have been instrumental in analyzing the spatial organization of the pseudopodial proteome and phosphoproteomes of invasive cancer cells.  His work in this area has provided unique insight into the complex signaling networks that operate in migrating cells and has uncovered possible new biomarkers of cancer metastasis.  It is not surprising that his work has been published in the top ranking journals Molecular Cell Proteomics, Journal of Proteome Research, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).  His most recent work on cell chemotaxis published in PNAS was reviewed by Faculty of 1000 where it received a high 6.0 score and a must read rating.  Based on his outstanding achievements he was awarded a Susan G. Komen postdoctoral fellowship and an invitation to speak at this years AACR meeting.

Another important attribute that Dr Wang possesses is the wherewithal and skills to functionally validate key proteomic/informatics findings in cell and animal models of cell migration and metastasis using various gene knockdown and molecular biology techniques.  This is truly exceptional as most proteomic/informatics experts do not pursue functional validation of their findings leaving the physiological relevance in question.  Using this approach, he discovered a new tyrosine kinase (pseudopodial-enriched atypical kinase 1, PEAK1) that mediates cell migration and invasion.  PEAK1 is amplified in 70% of highly metastastic colon cancers and is a good candidate for therapeutic development.  Informatics and functional testing have placed PEAK1 in the canonical FAK/CAS/Crk/Rac pathway that controls the actin cytoskeleton.  He is now investigating the mechanism of PEAK1-mediated cancer metastasis in vivo using animal models of cancer progression. This work is being prepared for publication in a high ranking journal.

In summary, Dr. Wang’s ability to utilize quantitative mass spectrometry to characterize the proteome of invasive cancer cells, utilize computational programs to understand the inter relationship of thousands of proteins, and the ability to functionally test key observations using cell-based systems truly sets him apart from his peers.  He has been exceptionally productive over the last four years having published 6 manuscripts and 3 of these are first author publications in top ranking journals.  He is a highly valued and well-liked member of my research team and the Department.  He is a vital member of my research team providing senior leadership and guidance to students and research technicians.  Dr. Wang has also been very active in the research community and has established important collaborations with leaders in the fields of proteomics (Drs. John Yates and Richard Smith), cell biology (Drs. Mark Ginsberg and Tom Parsons), and informatics (Drs. Vineet Bafna and Shankar Subramaniam).  We foresee Dr. Wang playing an important role in integrating Pathology’s new Biomarker Discovery and Diagnostic Proteomic Centercenter with UCSD’s supercomputer center and bioinformatics programs. .