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.

Dr. Feng Zeng is a visiting scientist at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Center for Genomics. Dr. Zeng received his MD and PhD from the Wuhan University, Wuhan, China. Feng joined the Center for Genomics and Wang lab in March 2023. He was an attending physician at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. His current research is focused on drug addictions and adverse brain effects using animal models and various genomics technologies.  

Dr. Lijuan Song is a visiting scientist at the Center for Genomics, Loma Linda University School of Medicine. She received her MD from the Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China and her PhD degree from the Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. She was an attending physician at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, China. Dr. Song joined the Center for Genomics and Wang lab in April 2023. Her current research interest is focused on substance abuse disorders using a variety of cutting-edge genomic and epigenomic technologies including single-cell histone modifications and single-cell RNA-sequencing.

Dr. Wei Xiong is a visiting scientist at the Center for Genomics, Loma Linda University School of Medicine. Dr. Xiong joined the Center for Genomics and Wang lab in September 2023. He was an attending physician at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Beijing Friendship Hospital affiliated to the Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. He received his MD from the Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University Clinical Medicine, Hunan, China and his PhD from the Capital Medical University. His major research was to study the autophagy flux and electrophysiological function of inner hair cells in cochlear. His current research is mainly focused on substance abuse disorders and adverse brain effects particularly on electrophysiological functions of the neurons involving animal models and genomics technologies.
 

Dr. Rachid Ounit is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Genomics, Loma Linda University School of Medicine. Dr. Ounit joined the Center for Genomics and Wang lab in March 2024.  He received his PhD in computer science from the University of California-Riverside in 2017. His current research focuses on integrating advanced techniques in data science and software engineering to address complex biological questions of substance abuse disorders involving various omics data including single-cell sequencing and spatial genomic data. Dr. Ounit's expertise in computational biology includes single-cell RNA sequencing, single-cell ATAC sequencing, and spatially resolved data. Prior to LLU, he previously held from 2020 to 2024 several industry positions in software engineering and bioinformatics at Alamar Biosciences, inc and Karius, inc.  And he co-founded Biotia, inc (now a VC-backed biotechnology company leveraging AI and sequencing technologies to control infectious diseases) and led the R&D projects and the IP development as Chief Technology Officer. His previous work in metagenomics and bioinformatics includes several popular and open-access bioinformatics tools routinely used by researchers at the NIH or the CDC, while his work in clinical diagnostics has contributed to advancements in disease detection and personalized medicine. With a strong background in software engineering, AI and scientific research, Dr. Ounit intends to continue to drive research that improves healthcare outcomes.

Alex Hindeleh is a Research Assistant at the Center for Genomics at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. Alex Joined the Center for Genomics and Wang lab in July 2023. He graduated from the University of California, Riverside in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. In the lab, he conducts behavioral tests, qRT-PCR/RNAscope assays, and flow cytometry. In his free time, Alex likes to play tennis, explore new hiking trails, and test out new baking recipes.

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.