Kuan Hong Wang, Ph.D.

Professional Background

Dr. Kuan Hong Wang began his research training as an undergraduate at Harvard College, receiving B.A., Summa Cum Laude, with highest honors in Biochemical Sciences. He then went to the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) for his PhD research with Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne, and identified novel molecular regulators of axon growth and branching during neural development. During his postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with Dr. Susumu Tonegawa, he developed new genetic tools and optical methods for tracking activity-regulated gene expression changes in the living brain and uncovered novel mechanisms of experience-dependent visual processing. As a principal investigator at the intramural research program of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), he established a new line of research on the neural circuit and molecular mechanisms underlying goal-directed skills. His laboratory identified novel roles of frontal cortical neuronal ensembles in the learning and control of goal-directed skills, established new paradigms for top-down corticospinal control of sensorimotor functions and pain, and uncovered unique age-dependent plasticity of dopaminergic inputs to frontal cortex and its impairment in mouse models of psychiatric dysfunctions. Presently, Dr. Wang is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester Medical Center. His current research continues to investigate the functional specialization, age-related alteration, and therapeutic modulation of cortical circuits involved in the cognitive and affective control of behaviors. In addition, he is taking leadership roles in the NIH-designated Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) and the Network for Emotional Well-being and Brain Aging (NEW Brain Aging) Center at the University of Rochester.

Research