School of Medicine


Showing 1-10 of 45 Results

  • Heather Wakelee

    Heather Wakelee

    Professor of Medicine (Oncology)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Wakelee's research is focused on clinical trials and translational efforts in patients with lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies such as thymoma and thymic carcinoma. Other interests include translation projects in thoracic malignancies and collaborations with population scientists regarding lung cancer questions.

  • Paul  J. Wang, MD

    Paul J. Wang, MD

    John R. and Ai Giak L. Singleton Director, Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine) and, by courtesy, of Bioengineering

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Wang's research centers on the development of innovative approaches to the treatment of arrhythmias, including more effective catheter ablation techniques, more reliable implantable devices, and less invasive treatments. Dr. Wang's clinical research interests include atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, syncope, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Dr. Wang is committed to addressing disparities in care and is actively involved in increasing diversity in clinical trials.

  • Taia T. Wang, MD, PhD, MSCI

    Taia T. Wang, MD, PhD, MSCI

    Assistant Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsLaboratory of Mechanisms in Human Immunity and Disease Pathogenesis

    Antibodies are a critical component of host defense. While the importance of humoral immunity has been recognized for decades, substantial gaps in knowledge remain around how antibodies function, and how their function is regulated, in vivo. Our laboratory performs studies designed to fill in these gaps, with the goal of enabling new vaccine and therapeutic strategies to prevent human disease. My interest in this area culminated from training in medicine, RNA virus biology (PhD), and molecular antibody biology (postdoctoral training). The intersection of these topics, viral immunity and disease pathogenesis, is the focus of our work. The essential question driving our research is why a small subset of people develop severe or fatal disease during viral infection while most infections result in a subclinical or mild outcome, even in at-risk populations. Our hypothesis is that the antibody signaling pathways that are engaged during viral infection through Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs) are a key driver of these distinct outcomes. We are focused on several major unknowns to address this hypothesis: How are antibody effector functions regulated in vivo and does this change in disease? How do distinct signaling pathways engaged by IgG immune complex-FcγR interactions impact host cell genetic regulation and the ultimate inflammatory/immune response? What are the tissue-specific functions that antibodies engage? How does the heterogeneity in post-translational modifications (PTMs) of human antibodies contribute to heterogeneity in viral immunity?



    Current clinical studies:
    Recruiting:

    An Open Label Study of IgG Fc Glycan Composition in Human Immunity
    Principal Investigator: Taia T. Wang, MD, PhD
    ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
    NCT01967238

  • Samantha Wang

    Samantha Wang

    Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine

    BioSamantha Wang received her Bachelors degree in Molecular & Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MD and Masters in Health Science degrees from Yale University School of Medicine. She completed training in internal medicine residency followed by a chief resident year at Stanford Hospital & Clinics. She led the Women in Internal Medicine Residency Interest Group and was a member of the GME Women in Medicine Leadership Council, where she developed educational programs to develop leadership, wellness, and community among women trainees and allies, and has now continued the work as a faculty liaison. She then joined the Division of Hospital Medicine as faculty to care for acutely ill adult patients. Outside her clinical work, her area of focus is in medical education, specifically clinical skills, patient-centered communication strategies, and health equity; she received the David A. Rytand Teaching Award in recognition of her excellence in clinical teaching. She is the Co-Director for the Clinical Teaching Pathway of Distinction for the Internal Medicine Residency. She was the recipient of a 2021-2022 Teaching & Mentorship Academy educational innovation grant to develop a digitalized curriculum to teach racial justice in clinical decision-making and promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the continuum of medical training. Her research uses quantitative and qualitative methodologies and participatory qualitative approaches with community partners to understand how to effectively teach racial justice in the clinical learning environment.