Will Wong, PhD
Highlights
Languages
- English
Gender
MaleJohns Hopkins Affiliations:
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
About Will Wong
Primary Academic Title
Professor of Physiology
Background
Dr. G. William Wong is a Professor of Physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research focuses on mechanisms governing metabolic homeostasis, function of adipose-and skeletal muscle-derived hormones, and mechanisms of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
He received in B.S. from Washington State University and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2000. Dr. Wong completed post-doctoral work in biochemistry, cell biology, and physiology at M.I.T’s Whitehead Institute from 2001 - 2007. He joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2008.
Dr. Wong’s lab seeks to understand mechanisms employed by cells and tissues to maintain metabolic homeostasis and is currently addressing how adipose- and skeletal muscle-derived hormones (adipokines and myokines), discovered in his lab, regulate tissue crosstalk and signaling pathways to control energy metabolism.
Centers and Institutes
Additional Academic Titles
Professor of Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Joint Appointment in Medicine
Research Interests
Function of adipose-and skeletal muscle-derived hormones, Mechanisms governing metabolic homeostasis, Mechanisms of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
Lab Website
Guang William Wong Lab
- The Wong Lab seeks to understand mechanisms employed by cells and tissues to maintain metabolic homeostasis. We are currently addressing how adipose- and skeletal muscle-derived hormones (adipokines and myokines), discovered in our lab, regulate tissue crosstalk and signaling pathways to control energy metabolism. We use transgenic and knockout mouse models, as well as cell culture systems, to address the role of the CTRP family of hormones in physiological and disease states. We also aim to identify the receptors that mediate the biological functions of CTRPs.
Research Summary
Dr. Wong’s laboratory is interested in understanding how various organs in the body coordinate the complex metabolic networks and circuitry to maintain proper energy balance. Specifically, his lab focuses on characterizing a novel family of endocrine mediators secreted by adipose tissue.
Current projects seek to understand how these circulating factors regulate fat mass as well as systemic insulin sensitivity, glucose and lipid metabolism. These secreted factors, all belong to the C1q/TNF protein family, are related in structure and function to the insulin-sensitizing hormone, adiponectin. A variety of in vitro and in vivo (transgenic and knockout mice) approaches are being employed in his lab to dissect the function and mechanisms of action of these molecules.
Honors
- Scientist Development Grant, American Heart Association, 1/1/09
- Travel fellowship, Human Genome Organization (HUGO), 1/1/04
- National Research Service Award (postdoctoral fellowship), NIH, 1/1/04
- Pharmacia Allergy Research Award (Sweden), 1/1/00
- Howard Hughes Undergraduate Investigator Award, 1/1/92
Additional Training
Whitehead Institute, M.I.T., Cambridge, MA, 2007, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Physiology