Position Title
Distinguished Professor
Position Title
Distinguished Professor
- Department of Pathology
- School of Medicine
Bio
- Professor Wan began her professional career at the University of California, Los Angeles, and rose from Assistant Professor to Full Professor. She then moved to the University of Kansas, where she served for nine years in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department. She then relocated to theUniversity of California, Davis. She served as Vice Chair for Research for the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine from 2012 to 2024. In 2022, Wan was promoted to University Distinguished Professor, the highest academic ranking in the University of California System. Wan has formally mentored more than 200 researchers, ranging from undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to visiting scholars and faculty members. At UC Davis, her research programs have supported the hosting of over 50 students and postdoctoral fellows. At the national level, Wan hasserved on the NIH Study Section Review Panel continuously since 2000. She has also served as the Associate Editor of Biomarker Research (impact factor 14.6) since its inauguration in 2012 and as an Editor for nine other journals. Wan studies metabolic liver disease, carcinogenesis, treatment, and prevention. Her lab generated the first hepatocyte-specific retinoid X receptor α (RXRα)-deficient mouse model in 2000 and has since characterized nuclear receptor-regulated pathways in metabolism and detoxification. Her recent research program focuses on the diet-gut-liver axis. She has made significant contributions to understanding how dietary effects impact immunity at the systemic level, which has led to the development of diseases affecting the liver, skin, and brain. Her research program identified non-invasive biomarkers in urine, serum, and fecal specimens that predict metabolic stress, which can lead to inflammation and carcinogenesis. Moreover, based on the shortage of specific metabolites in human liver and colon cancers, she and her collaborators designed and synthesized novel nano-drugs that can potentially treat metabolic diseases and colon cancer, which received a US patent.