Former Members of C. C. Wang Lab

I did my PhD work in the Lab of Fermentation at the University of Tokyo, where I looked at triggers of secondary metabolism and antibiotic production in Streptomyces. As a post-doc at Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases I studied Candida and other fungi, and developed a PCR-based diagnostic for coccidiomycosis, a dangerous airborne fungal pathogen. At the Wang lab I explore the role of Polo-like kinase in the cell cycle of T. brucei.

When not in the lab I enjoy exploring the Bay Area with my family.

I work on the cell cycle regulation in Trypanosoma brucei. Using techniques of genetics, cell biology and biochemistry, I try to dissect the molecular mechanisms of mitosis and cytokinesis in T. brucei by investigating several protein kinases such as aurora-B kinase and Tousled-like kinase.

After receiving my Ph.D from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, I came to UCSF, detoured to Singapore for a year in 2003, then returned to UCSF in early 2005. When not working in the lab, I enjoy playing games with my kid, telling stories and teaching Chinese language.

I work on Giardiavirus, which specifically infects the most primitive protozoan parasite, Giardia lamblia. I am trying to understand the mechanism of Internal Ribosomal Entry Site (IRES) mediated translation of the viral transcript. IRES of Giardiavirus is unique compared to other eukaryotic viral IRESs in that it consists of the 5' untranslated region plus 264 nucleotides of the capsid coding region. This unusual feature is probably a reflection of the translation initiation process that occurs on cellular mRNAs with unusually short (1-14nt) 5'UTRs.

I come from Hyderabad City, in India, and I got my PhD from Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India. When not in the lab I enjoy reading, traveling, and photography.

Using the yeast-two hybrid system, I'm working to identify novel cyclin-interacting proteins in T. brucei. I'm glad to be in sunny California after four years in stormy Dundee Scotland, where I did my PhD. When I'm not in the lab I enjoy soccer and badminton.

Along with Peng Wu I work on our group's T. vaginalis project. I'm purifying the purine nucleoside kinase enzyme and hope to find an inhibitor of this key metabolic checkpoint in the parasite.

Before joining the Wang lab I started the biotech company BioCheck, which makes test kits for diagnosing heart disease, colon and breast cancer.

As a protein chemist I'm measuring the activity of a battery of T. vaginalis purine nucloside phosphorylase mutants that I've created. By screening these mutants I hope for a better understanding the mechanism of the enzyme, leading to better drug treatments against the parasite.

I came to the group from USC, where I specialized in using the electron paramagnetic resonance technique to analyze protein structure. When not in the lab I enjoy photography and playing weiqi, also known as go.

I study the role of the subunits of the Anaphase Promoting Complex in T. brucei using RNAi and tandem affinity protein purification. I come to UCSF from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, and when not in the lab enjoy movies and travel.

I study the role of the 5' mRNA cap structure in translation initiation in Giardia. I came to UCSF from Beijing University. When not in the lab I enjoy playing with my son Lucian, who is 17 months old and the apple of my eye.

I use RNAi to investigate homolgues of cyclin-dependent kinases in Trypanosoma brucei. My interests away from the lab include music and badminton.

Trichomoniasis, caused by the flagellated protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis, is the most common sexually transmitted infection. It is associated with increased preterm delivery, cervical cancer and heightened risk of HIV/AIDS. The purine salvage enzymes of T. vaginalis are promising chemotherapeutic targets because the organism must recycle purines from its human host for survival. I work on purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP), a pivotal enzyme in the organism's purine salvage pathway. Guided by clues from X-ray structures of human and parasite PNP and PNP-inhibitor complexes, I carry out kinetic assays of bacterially expressed T. vaginalis PNP mutants to determine substrate specificities and catalytic properties of the enzyme. This information will be useful for generating selective, potent anti-trichomoniasis chemotherapeutic agents.

When not pursuing my goal of discovering an anti-parasitic drug, I enjoy training for marathons and ironperson triathlons.

I work on the purine nucleoside kinase system in the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis. I want to clone the enzyme and find an inhibitor of this key metabolic checkpoint. I did my PhD research on isoprenoid metabolism in the malaria parsite P. falciparum at the Central Drug Research Institute in Lucknow.

My hometown is Bijnor, in Uttar Pradesh State. When I'm not in the lab I enjoy drawing portraits and reading.

As a Research Assistant in the Wang lab I do proteasome purification, and use RNAi to investigate cyclins. I came to UCSF from Georgetown University. Away from the lab my interests include music and art.

As a protein chemist I look at the 20S and 19S proteasome subunits in T. brucei, and the purine nucleoside phosphorylase and kinase in T. vaginalis. I enjoy soccer and other ball sorts, and reading.

I'm a fourth year graduate student in the School of Pharmacy. I work on the purine nucleoside phosphorylase system in the parasite Tritrichomonas vaginalis and hope to help find an inhibitor of this key metabolic checkpoint. I came to UCSF from Grinnell College. When I'm not working in the lab I like to talk to my friends on the phone.

I am currently a 5th year graduate student in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. My thesis work deals with an essential purine salvage enzyme and potential chemotherapy target, the Adenine Phosphoribosyltransferase (APRTase) from the parasite Giardia lamblia . My undergraduate work was done at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Alice Wang

My main interests in the lab are Giardia lamblia and giardiavirus. When I'm not working on these organisms I'm the lab manager. And in my free time I enjoy conversing with pandas!

Graduate Student

Nick Mills

Graduate student