Wang Lab Team

Dr. Charles Wang obtained his MD and MPH from the Tongji Medical University (now Huazhong University of Science & Technology), Wuhan, China and his PhD in toxicology from the University of Washington, Seattle WA.  He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in biochip and molecular cancer biology at the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR)/Oakridge Institute for Scientific Education. Dr. Wang is the founding director of the LLU Center for Genomics which was partially funded by the NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP). Dr. Wang lab’s long-term research interests are to investigate the genomic and epigenomic mechanisms of diseases and health by exploiting the cutting-edge innovative omics technologies and bioinformatic tools.

Adriana Lopez is the administrative secretary at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Center for Genomics. She received her BA degree in communications from California State University Fullerton. Adriana joined the Center for Genomics in 2023. Her professional experience includes work as an administrative assistant in the Quality Department at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital.  Adriana’s responsibilities include tracking finances, purchasing necessary items for experiments, and scheduling meetings. In her free time, she enjoys reading, attending concerts, and local art events.

Dr. Zhong (John) Chen received his PhD degree in plant molecular biology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the Shandong University in China. Dr. Chen completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UC-Riverside. Dr. Chen joined the LLU Center for Genomics and Wang lab in January 2017. Dr. Chen has broad training in molecular biology and biochemistry. His current research focuses on genomics and epigenomics using animal models. Dr. Chen has more than 20 years of experience on DNA and RNA sample handling, many years of hand-on experience in NGS library constructions, including RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, WGS, WGBS, single-cell RNA-seq, snATAC-seq, spatial genomics, etc. Dr. Chen is also responsible for laboratory equipment maintenance, sequencing instrument operations, and laboratory management. More recently, Dr. Zhong Chen has built up extensive experience in NGS data analysis and visualization.

Dr. Wanqiu Chen received her PhD degree in neuroscience from Loma Linda University, and she then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the UCSF.  Dr. Wanqiiu Chen joined the LLU Center for Genomics and Wang lab in July 2017. Her research interest is to understand the impact of adverse intrauterine environmental exposure on brain development, and how the induced epigenetic dysregulation contributes to neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Wanqiu Chen has a broad background in neuroscience and neurological disorders. She has tremendous expertise in multi-omics data generation and bioinformatics data analyses including RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, RRBS methylation, single-cell RNA-seq, snATAC-seq, and spatial genomics.

Dr. Chirag Nepal is an Assistant Professor at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Center for Genomics. He received his PhD degree in computational biology from the University of Bergen, Norway. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark with the focus on translational genomics of biliary cancer. From 2018-2022, he continued as an assistant professor at University of Copenhagen. He joined the Center for Genomics and Wang lab in June 2022. His research is focused on large scale integrative genomic analyses.

Josh Lee is an MD/PhD student at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. Josh has completed his first two-year medical training on basic sciences and he is just starting his PhD graduate program at the Department of Basic Sciences at Loma Linda University School of Medicine.  After the completion of his PhD degree, Josh is expected to go back to complete his MD training on the clinical sciences. With previous research experience in retrotransposons, Josh joined Dr. Wang's lab in August 2024 to begin the PhD part of his program. He is interested in exploring how epigenetic mechanisms influence disease and health outcomes. Future goals include bridging the gap between genomics/bioinformatics and clinical practice and advancing research in personalized medicine. Outside of academics, Josh enjoys going to the gym, playing soccer, and cooking.