Hongmei Wang, Ph.D., is a professor of Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Dr. Wang also serves as the Vice President of Innovation Academy for Stem Cell and Regeneration, CAS. Dr. Wang received her B.A. in Biology and a M.A. in Cell Biology from Beijing Normal University, a Ph.D. in Reproductive Physiology from The State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, CAS and completed her postdoctoral training in Dr. Benjamin K Tsang’s laboratory at Ottawa Health Research Institute. Dr. Wang is now a professor at the State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology and a recipient of “National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars”. She is working in the field of reproduction and developmental biology, where she has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in the areas of embryo implantation, placentation and ovarian follicular development. Wang Lab is investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in placental development, particularly in the area of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion/migration and syncytialization of the trophoblast lineage and placentation-related diseases, such as fetal growth restriction, pre-eclampsia and hydatidiform moles.

Deciphering the secrets of how primates are formed

Fine-tuned development of the embryo is a prerequisite for successful implantation and the born of a healthy baby. Dysregulation of embryo development may lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as abortion and the born of babies with birth defects. By combining in vitro culture models for monkey and human embryos, and a well-established platform for the extraembryonic placenta research (including various trophoblast cell fusion/invasion/migration models, trophoblast stem cells, live-cell imaging, tissue clearing, high-throughput proteomics, single cell RNA-seq, etc), we spend all our efforts in trying to decipher the hidden secrets of how primate embryos are developed and what are the roles of the extraembryonic tissues in supporting the embryos at different stages of pregnancy.