Yan Wang is a research fellow, supervised by Prof Robert Widdop in Department of Pharmacology, Monash University. Yan has more than 8 years’ experience in cardiovascular pharmacology (both in vivo and in vitro). In 2011, Yan joined Prof Widdop’s group undertaking 3^rd year research (3990) project and Yan then completed her Honours Degree in 2012 with 1^st class Honours in the Department of Pharmacology, Monash University. The honours results conducted by Yan directly contributed to a successful NHMRC grant (2013-2015; Cardiovascular protective effects of nonclassical angiotensin receptors). Yan was employed by Prof Widdop as a Research Assistant after her Honours year for 3 years before commencing her PhD training from 2016 to 2019.  

Yan’s research has been focusing on novel treatments for cardiovascular and renal diseases, especially for end-organ damage (fibrosis) in the heart and kidney. In collaboration with Monash University colleagues, a number of novel peptides with high AT2R selectivity were synthesized and Yan’s studies have demonstrated these novel peptides exhibited marked anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects both in vitro and in diseased animal models. These results have successfully led to a patent filing in 2018, on which Yan is one of the co-inventors. Yan’s PhD work in this area has also contributed to funding and commercialization opportunities with BioCurate who are interested in the use of AT2R agonists that our lab has developed for the treatment of fibrotic diseases.

Yan has been an active member of HBPRCA and ASCEPT since 2012 and has presented her work annually at both meetings. Yan’s work has been recognized and selected for Finalist Oral Presentation at HBPRCA (2017 and 2019); Finalist at ASCEPT Garth MacQueen Oral Prize (2018). Yan has also received several highly competitive awards including ASCEPT Cardiovascular Special Interest Group Poster Prize (2017); Best Poster Award at the International Society for Hypertension (ISH) meeting in Beijing (2018); HBPRCA Student Poster winner (2018); Young investigator Poster Award at the International Society of Heart Research (ISHR) meeting in Beijing (2019) and Paul Dudley White International Scholar at the Hypertension Scientific Sessions, New Orleans, USA (2019).

Yan’s long-term goal is to be an independent translational researcher to discover/test novel treatments for cardiovascular and renal diseases.