Dr. Yangming Wang is a full professor and director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the College of Future Technology, Peking University, China. He is also a Principal Investigator at Beijing Advanced Center of RNA Biology (BEACON). His research interest is on RNA biology and stem cell biology. His major contribution to the field includes: systematic dissection of miRNA functions in embryonic stem cells, identification of a long noncoding RNA Trincr1 that regulates the self-renewal of embryonic stem cells through inhibiting ERK signaling, invention of a miRNA-inducible CRISPR platform (MICR) that can serve as miRNA reporter and cell specific genome editing tools, invention of a CRISPR based reporter for monitoring promoter activity (GRIT) and identification of SUMO2-PIAS4-DPPA2/4 pathway that regulates the totipotency transition of embryonic stem cells and zygotic genome activation; co-developed a new computational pipeline to identify long noncoding RNA homologs. He is currently using multiple disciplinary engineering approaches to develop novel tools for basic and translational research of RNA and stem cells. He has published over 40 scientific journal papers on peer-reviewed journals including  Nature Genetics ,  Nature Cell Biology  ,  Nature Communications  ,  Cell Research  and  Cell Reports  etc. He is a council member of Chinese Society of Stem Cell Research and Chinese Society of RNA Biology. He is also an Advisory Board member for  Cell Reports  and  Cell Proliferation .

Courses

RNA Biology (UG & G, 2 credits)

Stem cells and Regenerative Medicine (UG, 2 credits)

Advances in Molecular Medicine (Seminar, 2 credits)

Education

BS  2000 Biotechnology, Peking University

Ph. D.  2006 Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Supervisor: Prof. Scott K. Silverman)

Experience

2000. 8 – 2001.6  Research Associate, School of Life Sciences, Peking University

2006. 3 – 2010.12  Institute of Regenerative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.  (Advisor: Prof. Robert H. Blelloch)  

2011. 1 – 2018.8  Assistant Professor, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing, China

 2018. 8 – 2021.1 Associate Professor, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing, China

2021. 2 – Present Professor, Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China

Projects

2021.1-2025.12 Principal Investigator, National Natural Science Foundation of China

Title: Functional and Mechanistic study of Noncoding RNAs

2022. 1 – 2026.12 Principal Investigator, National Natural Science Foundation of China

Title: Mechanistic Study of Totipotent-Like Cell State

Representative publications:

1.#Huang, W., #Xiong, T., #Zhao, Y., Heng, J., Han, G., Wang, P., Zhao, Z., Shi, M., Li, J., Wang, J., Wu, Y., Liu, F., *Xi, J.J., *Wang, Y. and *Zhang, Q.C. (2024) Computational prediction and experimental validation identify functionally conserved lncRNAs from zebrafish to human. Nature Genetics, 56, 124-135.

2.#Shi, F., #Zhang, K., Cheng, Q., Che, S., Zhi, S., Yu, Z., Liu, F., Duan, F., *Wang, Y. and *Yang, N. (2024) Molecular mechanism governing RNA-binding property of mammalian TRIM71 protein. Science Bulletin, 69, 72-81.

3.Zhang, X.S., Xie, G., Ma, H., Ding, S., Wu, Y.X., Fei, Y., Cheng, Q., Huang, Y. and *Wang, Y. (2023) Highly reproducible and cost-effective one-pot organoid differentiation using a novel platform based on PF-127 triggered spheroid assembly. Biofabrication, 15, 045014.

4.#Mi, L., #Shi, M., Li, Y.X., Xie, G., Rao, X., Wu, D., Cheng, A., Niu, M., Xu, F., Yu, Y., Gao, N., Wei, W., Wang, X. and *Wang, Y. (2023) DddA homolog search and engineering expand sequence compatability of mitochondrial base editing. Nature Communications, 14, 874.

5.Wang, S.H., Hao, J., Zhang, C., Duan, F.F., Chiu, Y.T., Shi, M., Huang, X., Yang, J., *Cao, H. and *Wang, Y. (2022) Klf17 promotes human naive pluripotency through repressing MAPK3 and ZIC2. Science China Life Sciences, 65, 1985-1997.

6.*Guo, W., Wang, S., Zhang, X., Shi, M., Duan, F., Hao, J., Gu, K., Quan, L., Wu, Y., Liang Z. and *Wang, Y. (2021) Acidic pH transiently prevents the silencing of self-renewal and dampens microRNA function in embryonic stem cells. Science Bulletin, 66, 1319-1329.

7.Zhao, Y.T. and *Wang, Y. (2021) Monitoring the promoter activity of long noncoding RNAs and stem cell differentiation through knock-in of sgRNA flanked by tRNA in an intron. Cell Discovery, 53, e12914.

8.#Yan, Y.L, #Zhang, C., Hao, J., Wang, X.L., Ming, J., Mi, L., Na, J., Hu, X. and *Wang，Y. (2019) DPPA2/4 and SUMO E3 ligase PIAS4 opposingly regulate zygotic transcriptional program. PLOS Biology 17, e3000324.

9.#Wang, X.W., #Hu, L.F., Hao, J., Liao, L.Q., Chiu, Y.T., Shi, M. and *Wang，Y. (2019) A microRNA-inducible CRISPR-Cas9 platform serves as a microRNA sensor and cell-type-specific genome regulation tool. Nature Cell Biology 21, 522-530. (Highlighted by News and Views in Nature Cell Biology, 21, 416-417)

10.#Li, Y.P., #Duan, F.F., Zhao, Y.T., Gu, K.L., Liao, L.Q., Su, H.B., Hao, J., Zhang, K., Yang, N. and *Wang，Y. (2019) A TRIM71 binding long noncoding RNA Trincr1 represses FGF/ERK signaling in embryonic stem cells. Nature Communications 10, 1368.

11.Wang, X.W., Hao, J., Guo, W.T., Liao, L.Q., Huang, S., Guo, X., Bao, X., Esteban, M.A. and *Wang, Y. (2017) DGCR8-independent stable microRNA expression strategy reveals important functions of miR-290 and miR-183~182 families in mouse embryonic stem cells. Stem Cell Reports 9，1618-1629.

12.#Gu, K.L., #Zhang, Q., #Yan, Y., #Li, T.T., Duan, F.F., Hao, J., Wang, X.W., Shi, M., Wu, D.R., Guo, W.T., *Wang, Y. (2016) Pluripotency Associated miR-290/302 Family of microRNAs Promote the Dismantling of Naive Pluripotency. Cell Research 26, 350-366.

13.#Cao, Y., #Guo, W.T., Tian, S., He, X., Wang, X.W., Liu, X., Gu, K.L., Ma, X., Huang, D., Cai, Y.P., Zhang, H., *Wang, Y. and *Gao, P. (2015) miR-290/371-Mbd2-Myc Circuit Regulates Glycolytic Metabolism to Promote Pluripotency. EMBO Journal 34, 609-623.

14.Guo, W.T., Wang, X.W., Yan, Y.L., Li, Y.P., Yin, X., Zhang, Q., Melton, C., Shenoy, A., Reyes, N.A., Oakes, S.A., *Blelloch, R. and *Wang，Y. (2015) Suppression of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition and Apoptotic Pathways by miR-294/302 Synergistically Blocks let-7-induced Silencing of Self-renewal in Embryonic Stem Cells. Cell Death and Differentiation 22, 1158-1169.

15.Wang, Y., Baskerville, S., Shenoy, A., Babiarz, J.E., Baehner, L. and *Blelloch, R. (2008) Embryonic Stem Cell Specific microRNAs Regulate the G1/S Transition and Promote Rapid Proliferation. Nature Genetics 40, 1478-1483. (Highlighted in Nature Reports Stem Cells; News and Views in Nature Genetics, 2008, 40, 1391-1392; and in Cell Stem Cell, 2009, 4, 9-10)

16.Wang, Y., Medvid, R., Melton, C., Jaenisch, R. and *Blelloch, R. (2007) DGCR8 is Essential for microRNA Biogenesis and Silencing of Embryonic Stem Cell Self-Renewal. Nature Genetics 39, 380-385.