Yu Tian Wang, MD, PhD
Yu Tian Wang is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and Chair in Stroke Research at the Brain Research Centre at UBC and Vancouver Hospital & Health Sciences Centre. His research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that allow brain cells to communicate with each other for learning and memory. Dr Wang received his medical degree from Shandong Medical University in the People's Republic of China and a PhD in Neuroscience from Memorial University of Newfoundland.
B. Medicine; 1982
M.Sc. - Physiology; 1985
Ph.D. - Neuroscience; 1992
Position: Professor
Department: Brain Research Center and Department of Medicine
Email:
ytwang@interchange.ubc.ca Mailing address:
Dr. Yu Tian Wang
Brain Research Center, Room F117
University of British Columbia
2211 Westbrook Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5
Office: (604) 822-0398
Fax: (604) 822-7299
Category: FacMol
Research Description:
Glutamate and GABA-A receptors are two principal neurotransmitter receptors, which mediate excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission, respectively, in the brain and these receptors play a crucial role in both brain function and dysfunction. My colleagues and I are interested in understanding molecular mechanisms responsible for the intracellular trafficking and plasma membrane targeting of these receptors, and investigating the manner by which these mechanisms may be altered in CNS disease processes. The goal is, ultimately, to be able to treat central nervous disorders, such as cerebral ischemia and epilepsy, by designing new therapeutics which specifically target these receptors and their pathways.
Selected References:
1. Cossette P, Liu L, Brisebois K, Dong H, Lortie A, Vanasse M, Saint-Hilaire JM, Carmant L, Verner A, Lu WY, Wang YT and GA Rouleau, Mutation of GABRA1 in an autosomal dominant form of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, Nature Genetics 31:184-189, 2002.
2. Lu WY, Man HY, Trimble W, MacDonald JF and YT Wang, Activation of synaptic not extrasynaptic NMDA receptors induces LTP through insertion of AMPA receptors at excitatory synapses in cultured hippocampal neurons, Neuron, 29:243-254, 2001.
3. Liu F, Wan Q, Pristupa Z, Wang YT* and Niznik HB* (*Equal Senior Responsible Authors) Direct protein-protein binding enables reciprocal dopamine D5 and GABAA receptor cross-talk, Nature, 403:274-280, 2000.
4. HY Man, J Lin, W Ju, G Ahmadian-Bahadorani, LE Becker, M Sheng and YT Wang, Regulation of AMPA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission by clathrin-dependent receptor internalization, Neuron, 25: 649-662, 2000.
5. Wan Q, Man HY, Liu F, Niznik HB, Pang SF, Brown GM and YT Wang. Mel1a and mel1b receptors mediate opposite effects of melatonin on GABA-A receptor, Nature Neurosci., 2:401-403, 1999.
6. Wan Q, Xiong ZG, Man HY, Ackerley CA, Braunton J, Lu WY, Becker LE, MacDonald JF and YT Wang, Recruitment of functional GABAA receptors to postsynaptic domains by insulin, Nature 388:686-690, 1997.
7. Wang YT, Yu XM and MW Salter, Ca2+-independent reduction of NMDA-receptor currents by protein tyrosine dephosphorylation, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93:1721-1725, 1996.
8. Wang YT and MW Salter, Regulation of NMDA receptors by protein-tyrosine kinases and phosphatases, Nature, 369:233-235, 1994.
加拿大华裔王玉田获麦可史密斯基金会颁专业奖
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2002年10月14日
华声报讯：以资助医学研究著称的麦可史密斯基金会10月10日公布“2002年度专业奖”，27位获奖的医药卫生研究人员总共将可获得将近1000万加元的奖助，目前在卑诗大学脑研究中心从事中风和脑疾病研究的王玉田博士则是其中唯一的华裔。
王玉田在山东医科大学获得医学士和生理学硕士后，1988年赴加拿大，在纽芬兰纪念大学修读博士，专攻神经研究，毕业后随即获聘前往多伦多任教，并带领一个研究团队，一直到去年9月，才在卑诗大学强力延揽下，转至该校医学院，并担任由卑诗大学脑研究中心、温哥华总医院和心脏暨中风基金会共同设置的一个特别研究基金的主席。
麦可史密斯基金会总裁暨执行长丁格尔表示，今年的专业奖评选重点之一，在于鼓励对外招揽人才，藉以提升卑诗省的研究水准，因此在今年的27位得奖人当中，就有10位是新近被延揽至卑诗省主要大学和教学医院的专家和研究人员。事实上，这次随同王玉田转来卑诗大学的研究团队就有10人之多。
据北美《世界日报》报道，麦可史密斯基金会去年起创立的专业奖，是以长期津贴方式，资助卑诗省内的顶尖医药卫生研究人员，两年下来已有60位研究人员获奖，该会拨发的补助额已达2300万加元。
http://www.hhmi.org/research/scholars/wang.html
