OUR TEAM:

Principal Investigator:

Xiaofeng Wang, PhD

Assistant Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology

Cancer Biology and Molecular Therapeutics

Xiaofeng obtained his PhD from Tsinghua University, China, where he studied chaperon proteins in tumor malignancy. After that, he went to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School and worked in Charlie Roberts lab as a postdoctoral fellow studying chromatin remodeling SWI/SNF complex in pediatric cancers. From there, he developed strong interest in cancer epigenetics. Outside the lab, he likes hiking, cooking (especially hosting hot pot), playing with his dog while drinking a lot of coffee.

Graduate Students:

Luke Deary (PEMM)

Luke previously studied the contributions of adult intestinal stem cells to tissue homeostasis and regeneration in the Breault Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital. He then worked at Minerva Biotechnologies developing a CAR-T therapy, which is now in a Phase 1 clinical trial. Luke is primarily interested in the epigenetic control of stem cell identity and lineage determination. In the Wang Lab, he is investigating how SWI/SNF complexes maintain and direct gastrointestinal cell lineage and how alterations in SWI/SNF subunits dysregulate gene regulatory networks to drive disease. Away from the lab, Luke enjoys hiking, skiing, ice hockey, brewing beer, and gardening.

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Ruoyun Wang (MCB)

Ruoyun went to Nanjing University where she studied Biological Sciences. She is very interested in cancer epigenetics, and loves both benchwork and coding. She is now struggling but having fun doing NGS experiments and data analysis. 

Research Associate:

Andrew McCray

Andrew recently graduated from Colby College in 2020 with a major in Biochemistry. Prior research was focused on the effects of organic content in atmospheric aerosol chemistry. Andrew’s interest in epigenetics brought him to the Wang lab in June 2020 where he has begun work to better understand the consequences of SWI/SNF subunit mutations in disease. Andrew’s other interests include soccer, skiing, and generally enjoying the outdoors.

Undergraduate Research Assistants:

Sophia Arana

Sophia is a junior at Dartmouth College studying neuroscience and biology. She joined the lab as part of the Dartmouth Opportunities in Oncology Research (DOOR) program. In the lab she has assisted in creating knockout lines of relevant proteins, in cell culturing, and in running Western Blots. She is currently working on using virtual screening tools to identify possible inhibitors for selected SWI/SNF targets. Sophia is a member of the Dartmouth equestrian team and enjoys skiing on her free time.

PAST MEMBERS:

Gone, But Not Forgotten:

Ben Wolf

Ben studied biochemistry and computer science at Bowdoin College, where he worked in an organometallic chemistry lab that created catalysts for Carbon-Hydrogen bond activation. During his time in the Wang lab, Ben studied the biochemical and epigenetic consequences of SWI/SNF mutations across pancreatic cancer and malignant rhabdoid tumors. He is now a graduate student in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program at Harvard, and hopes to work on directed evolution and bioengineering. 

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Harrison Hawk

Harrison studied biology and government at Bowdoin College with a concentration in genetics. As a member of the Wang Lab, he studied the biochemical and epigenetic consequences of SWI/SNF mutations in a variety of cancer types. He is now working in the life sciences consulting industry. Off the clock, he enjoys ripping his moped to new fly fishing spots. 

Stephan DeCarlo

Stephan studied biochemistry and mathematics at Bowdoin College, where he worked in a peptoid chemistry lab designing a catalyst for enantioselective trifluoromethylation of aldehydes. Stephan then went on to work at Adimab, a biotechnology company that specializes in antibody discovery. During Stephan's internship in the Wang lab, he sought to elucidate structure-function relationships in the SWI/SNF complex that drive characteristic phenotypes found in select rhabdoid tumors. He is now a graduate student in the Chemical Biology program at Harvard University, where he hopes to learn more about disease mechanisms and drug discovery & development. 

Lab Dog:

Wally

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