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Fengrong Wang

Ph.D
Fengrong Wang

Assistant Professor
Biomedical Sciences
frwang@iastate.edu
515-294-7528
2074 Patterson
ISU Directory Link
Fengrong Wang's website

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Education & Certifications

Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2017, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

B.S. in Biochemistry (Summa Cum Laude), 2011, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY

Undergraduate student in Food Quality and Safety, Zhejiang Gongshang University, 2006-2008, Hangzhou, China
 

Research Focus & Interests

My research investigates how Toxoplasma gondii regulates protein translation and other pathways to control its transition from acute to chronic infection. Using approaches in biochemistry, molecular biology, CRISPR-based gene editing/screening, and structural biology, this work aims to reveal fundamental parasite biology and identify novel therapeutic targets.

We are actively recruiting motivated students at all levels to join our research team!

Honors & Awards

American Heart Association Career Development Award                             4/1/2025-3/31/2028

Knights Templar Eye Foundation Career-Start Research Grant                   7/1/2025-6/31/2026       

Selected Publications

  1. Rimple, P., Olafsson, E., Markus, B., Wang, F., Augusto, L., Lourido, A., and Carruthers, V.B. (2025). Metabolic Adaptability and Nutrient Scavenging in Toxoplasma gondii: Insights from Ingestion Pathway-Deficient Mutants. mSphere (PMC11623567) 
  2. Thaprawat, P, Wang F., Chalasani, S, Schultz, T. L., Di Cristina, M., Carruthers V. B. (2025). Toxoplasma gondii PROP1 is critical for autophagy and parasite viability during chronic infection. mSphere (PMID: 39982060)
  3. Thaprawat, P., Zhang, Z., Rentchler, E., Wang, F., Chalasani, S., Lourido, S., Cristina, M. D., Klionsky, D. J., and Carruthers, V. B. (2024). TgATG9 is required for autophagosome biogenesis and maintenance of chronic infection in Toxoplasma gondii. Autophagy Reports, 3(1). (PMC11588310)
  4. Wang, F., Holmes, M. J., Hong, H. J., Thaprawat, P., Kannan, G., Huynh, M. H., Schultz, T. L., Licon, M. H., Lourido, S., Dong, W., Querido, J.B., Sullivan, W. J. Jr., O’Leary, S. E., and Carruthers, V. B. (2024). Translation initiation factor eIF1.2 orchestrates Toxoplasma differentiation by regulating stage-specific gene expression. Nature Communications, 15:4385. (PMC11116398)
  5. Smith, D., Kannan, G., Coppens, I., Wang, F., Nugyen, H. M., Cerutti, A., Olafsson E.B., Rimple, P., Schultz, T. L., Mercado Soto, N. M., Di Cristina, M., Besteiro, S., and Carruthers, V. B. (2021). Toxoplasma TgATG9 is critical for autophagy and long-term persistence in tissue cysts. Elife, 10, e59384. (PMC8128441)
  6. Steen, K., Chen, D., Wang, F., Majumdar, R., Chen, S., Kumar, S., Lombard, D. B., Weigert, R., Parent, C. A., and Coulombe, P. A. (2020). A role for keratins in supporting mitochondrial organization and function in skin keratinocytes. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 31, 1103-1111. (PMC7353162)
  7. Kannan, G., Di Cristina, M., Schultz, A. J., Huynh, M. H., Wang, F., Schultz, T. L., Lunghi, M., Coppens, I., and Carruthers, V. B. (2019). A role for Toxoplasma gondii chloroquine resistance transporter in bradyzoite viability and digestive vacuole maintenance. mBio, 01324-19. (PMC6686041)
  8. Wang, F., Chen, S., Liu, H. B., Parent, C. A., and Coulombe, P. A. (2018). Keratin 6 regulates collective keratinocyte migration by altering cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion. Journal of Cell Biology, 217, 4314-4330. (PMC6279382)
  9. Wang, F., Zieman, A., and Coulombe, P. A. (2016). Chapter Twelve-Skin Keratins. Methods in enzymology, 568, 303-350. (PMC4902878)
  10. Wang, F., Chmil, C., Pierce, F., Ganapathy, K., Gump, B., MacKenzie, J., Mechref, Y., and Bendinskas, K. (2013). Immobilized metal affinity chromatography and human serum proteins. Journal of Chromatography B, 934, 26-33. (DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2013.06.032)