Stanford University | United States
Author Profile
Scopus
🔬 DR. YANLAN WANG, M.D. - PIONEER IN CANCER BIOLOGY AND IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS
🎓 EARLY ACADEMIC PURSUITS
Dr. Yanlan Wang embarked on her medical journey at the Xiang-ya School of Medicine, Central South University, where she earned her MBBS (M.D. equivalent) in 2012. Her academic brilliance was evident early, as she graduated valedictorian and received multiple honors and scholarships throughout her undergraduate years.
Following this, she pursued her M.S. in Clinical Residency at The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, completing it in 2015, and later obtained a Ph.D. equivalent M.D. in Microbial and Biochemical Pharmacy from Sun Yat-sen University in 2018. Her doctoral work included hands-on research in the lab of Nobel Laureate Dr. Roger D. Kornberg, underscoring her early focus on cancer therapeutics and molecular biology.
🧪 PROFESSIONAL ENDEAVORS
Dr. Wang has built a rich career trajectory across academic and industrial research domains. Her current role as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Dr. Gerald Crabtree’s lab at Stanford University reflects her cutting-edge involvement in cancer driver rewiring and apoptosis activation.
Before this, she contributed significantly at Dr. Michael Cleary’s lab, also at Stanford, where she studied the molecular genesis and treatment of MLLr leukemia, a critical form of pediatric and adult leukemia. In the biotech sector, she held leadership roles at HuaAn MCAB Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and BJ Bioscience Inc., where she led teams developing Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) and bispecific antibodies, several of which advanced to clinical trials.
🔍 CONTRIBUTIONS AND RESEARCH FOCUS ON BIOLOGICAL NETWORKS
🔬 CANCER DRIVER REWIRING AND APOPTOSIS
At Stanford, Dr. Wang is pioneering a multiplex molecular glue screen platform to identify and manipulate cancer drivers to trigger programmed cell death. Her collaborative efforts with Dr. Nathanael Gray have already resulted in the discovery of three novel targets for inducing apoptosis in MLLr leukemia and NUT midline carcinoma.
🧬 MLLR LEUKEMIA BIOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS
Her research at the Michael Cleary Lab led to groundbreaking insights, such as the identification of multiple cell origins in MLLr leukemia and lineage switching during leukemogenesis. She established a novel CRISPR AI system, along with CRISPR-AAV barcoding, to trace and reprogram leukemic cells, developing three potential therapeutic strategies in the process.
🧫 IMMUNOTHERAPY AND ANTIBODY DRUG CONJUGATES (ADCS)
At BJ Bioscience, she directed immunotherapeutic research targeting NK cells, T cells, and macrophages using cutting-edge tools like bispecific and trispecific antibodies, tumor-targeting IL-15, and PDL1-TGFβ traps. Her work has led to Phase I clinical trials for molecules such as BJ-001 and BJ-005.
đź’Š PRODRUG DEVELOPMENT
Her efforts in designing a prodrug targeting AKR1C3 culminated in the Phase II clinical trial of TH3424 (OBI-3424). This work holds promise for selective cancer therapies that minimize off-target effects.
🌎 IMPACT AND INFLUENCE
Dr. Wang's work spans the entire translational pipeline, from bioinformatics-based target identification to clinical-phase drug development. Her research has influenced cancer biology, drug discovery, and gene editing platforms across both academic laboratories and industrial settings.
Her collaborations with labs like Calvin Kuo’s (organoid models) and Nathanael Gray’s (TCIPs in leukemia) demonstrate her interdisciplinary reach and thought leadership in experimental cancer therapy. The CRISPR tools and in vivo validation strategies she developed are now being adapted in multiple laboratories worldwide.
đź“š ACADEMIC CITES AND RECOGNITIONS
Dr. Wang's impactful scientific work has been recognized with numerous academic honors, including:
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Coxe Fellowship – 2021
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Special Merit Award (BJ-001 Project) – 2019
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Multiple Scholarships from Sun Yat-sen and Central South Universities
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Yale-China Scholarship – 2009–2010
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Johnson & Johnson and PICC Life Scholarships
Her publications, though not listed here, span high-impact areas of oncology, immunotherapy, and molecular pharmacology, contributing to the growing citations of emerging cancer treatment technologies.
🧬 LEGACY AND FUTURE CONTRIBUTIONS
With a strong foundation in translational cancer research, gene editing, antibody therapeutics, and bioinformatics, Dr. Wang stands at the forefront of next-generation precision oncology. Her CRISPR-AAV and AI-based systems for leukemia modeling and reprogramming mark a new era in personalized medicine.
Looking ahead, Dr. Wang is poised to lead independent research programs that integrate systems biology, spatial transcriptomics, and molecular rewiring strategies to combat drug-resistant cancers. Her future endeavors may well revolutionize how we understand and treat malignancies at the cellular level.
🏅 CONCLUSION: A TRAILBLAZER IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE
Dr. Yanlan Wang exemplifies the modern scientific leader—deeply skilled, cross-disciplinary, and impact-driven. From exploring epigenetic differentiation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma to redefining therapeutic strategies in MLLr leukemia, her contributions are reshaping the landscape of cancer treatment and research innovation.
đź“‘NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
"Withdrawal: A novel AKR1C3 specific prodrug TH3424 with potent anti-tumor activity in liver cancer (Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, (2021), 110, 1, (262), 10.1002/cpt.1708)"Â
- Authors: Ping He, Chunnian Wang, Yanlan Wang, Caiyan Wang, Changhua Zhou, Donglin Cao, Jiang Li, David A. Bushnell, Qing Li, Roger D. Kornberg, Wei Xie, Zhong Wang
- Journal: BMC Cancer
- Year: 2021