Biography

Dr. Zhe Wang is a Distinguished Professor in CAM-SU Genomic Resource Center, Soochow University. Dr. Wang received her Ph.D. from Peking University in 2020. She then completed her postdoctoral training at Columbia University under the guidance of Dr. Wei Gu, an internationally renowned pioneer in the field of p53 research. She began her lab in 2025 at CAM-SU Genomic Resource Center.

Dr. Wang’s longstanding interests in oxidative stress and tumorigenesis have led to significant findings in the field. She elucidated the mechanisms by which the rewiring of amino acids and vitamins metabolism regulates the oxidative stress response. She uncovered the critical role of tumor suppressor p53 in regulating canonical vitamin K metabolism-mediated ferroptosis defense. Furthermore, she identified GAS41, a ferroptosis repressor, mediates cystine metabolism in transcription by anchoring NRF2 to chromatin and subsequently supporting the progression of non-small lung cancer. More recently, Dr. Wang’s lab focuses on studying the novel relationship between NRF2, nutritional metabolism, and tumor progression.

Research Interests

Dr. Zhe Wang’s laboratory studies the relationship between oxidative stress and tumorigenesis. We focus on two specific aims. First, elucidate the crosstalk between oxidative stress regulation and nutrient metabolism centered on NRF2 under different microenvironments or pathological conditions, especially the role of amino acids, vitamins, trace elements, and nucleotide metabolism in oxidative stress-induced ferroptosis, as well as their impact on development and progression of cancer; Second, uncover the regulatory mechanism by which post-translational protein modifications determine cell fate by regulating oxidative stress.

Selected Publications

1. Wang Z#, Yang X#, Chen D, Liu Y, Jiang X, Stockwell BR, and Gu W*. GAS41 is an important target for activating ferroptosis by anchoring NRF2 on chromatin. Nature Communications. 2024, 15(1):2531

2. Yang X#, Wang Z#, Zandkarimi F, Liu Y, Duan S, Li Z, Kon N, Zhang Z, Jiang X, Stockwell B.R. and Gu W*. Regulation of VKORC1L1 is critical for p53-mediated tumor suppression through vitamin K metabolism. Cell Metabolism. 2023, 35(8):1474-1490. (Cover story)

3. Wang Z#, Yang X#, Liu C, Li X, Zhang B, Wang B, Zhang Y, Song C, Zhang T, Liu M, Liu B, Ren M, Jiang H, Zou J, Liu X, Zhang H, Zhu W-G, Yin Y, Zhang Z, Gu W and Luo J*. Acetylation of PHF5A modulates stress responses and colorectal carcinogenesis through alternative splicing-mediated upregulation of KDM3A. Molecular Cell. 2019, 74(6):1250-1263.

4. Yang X#, Wang Z, Samovich SS, Kapralov AA, Amoscato AA, Tyurin VA, Dar HH, Li Z, Duan S, Kon N, Chen D, Zhang Z, Jiang X, Bayir H, Stockwell BR, Kagan VE, and Gu W*. PHLDA2-mediated phosphatidic acid peroxidation triggers a distinct ferroptotic response during tumor suppression. Cell Metabolism. 2024，36(4):762-777.

5. Yang X#, Wang Z, Li X, Liu B, Liu M, Liu L, Chen S, Ren M, Wang Y, Yu M, Wang B, Zou J, Zhu W-G, Yin Y, Gu W and Luo J*. SHMT2 desuccinylation by SIRT5 drives cancer cell proliferation. Cancer Research. 2018, 78(2):372-386.

6. Zhang T#, Wang Z, Liu M, Liu L, Yang X, Zhang Y, Bie J, Li Y, Ren M. Song C, Wang W, Tan H*, Luo J*. (2022). Acetylation dependent translocation of EWSR1 regulates CHK2 alternative splicing in response to DNA damage. Oncogene. 2022, 41(29): 3694–3704.