Dr. Rennian Wang, MD, PhD


Children’s Health Research Institute
Scientist, Developmental Biology Program


Lawson Health Research Institute
Scientist, Children’s Health Research Institute and Metabolism and Diabetes Program


University of Western Ontario
Assistant Professor, Departments of Physiology & Pharmacology and Medicine


Contact Information
Tel: (519) 685 8500 Ext. 55098
Fax: (519) 685 8186
E-mail: rwang@uwo.ca
Web: http://www.physpharm.fmd.uwo.ca/


Brief Biography

Dr. Rennian Wang obtained her medical degree from Shanghai Second Medical University, in 1982, followed by specialized training in General Surgery at Renji Hospital in Shanghai, China. She held the professional title of Physician-In-Charge in 1989. She then pursued her masters in experimental pathology at The Free University of Brussels, Belgium, and doctorate at the Institute of Pathology, University of Kiel, Germany, under the supervision of Dr Günter Klöppel. Dr. Wang’s work on beta cell regeneration resulted in the award of a MSc in 1993 and PhD in 1997. She subsequently joined Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg's laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University and was awarded the Canadian Diabetes Association Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr. Wang became an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, and Medicine at The University of Western Ontario in 2001. She was awarded a University Faculty Award from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and a Scholarship from the Canadian Diabetes Association in 2001, a CFI/OIT New Investigator grant in 2002, and her research is currently funded by CIHR and NSERC.


Research Interests
• Pancreatic islet cell development
• Integrins and extracellular matrix in pancreatic tissue engineering
• Islet transplantation
• Regeneration of pancreatic beta cells and diabetes


Research Activities

Diabetes is associated with a multitude of complications causing considerable morbidity and burden on society. Islet cell transplantation is a promising approach to diabetes treatment. However, human islet availability is limited. Understanding islet progenitor identity, genetic profiles and factors controlling their growth and differentiation is essential before we can begin to apply stem cell biology to the problem of replacing insulin-producing cells in diabetes. Dr. Wang’s research is dedicated to understanding and manipulating cellular differentiation in pancreatic tissue in order to provide a pathway for beta-cell regeneration in diabetic individuals. Her research is focused on (1) understanding the molecular events involved in the morphogenetic control of beta-cell development from pre- to post-natal remodeling, (2) the characterization of optimal culture environments to induce islet progenitor cells to differentiate into insulin-producing islet cells and (3) the determination of the mechanisms by which factors and signaling pathways regulate pancreatic islet cell growth. Her work has been published in journals such as Diabetes, Diabetologia and Endocrinology. She has presented her research work at over 30 national and international conferences and has been an invited speaker at both the national and international level. She has trained 8 undergraduate students, 1 graduate student and 2 postdoctoral fellows.


Representative Publications

  1. NK.Yashpal, J. Li, MB. Wheeler, R. Wang (2005). Expression of ß1 integrin receptors during rat pancreas development: sites and dynamics. Endocrinology 146:1798-1807.
  2. R. Wang, J. Li, K. Lyte, N. K. Yashpal, F. Fellows, J. Walton, C. Goodyer. (2005). Role for ?1-integrin and its associated ?3, ?5 and ?6 subunits in development of human fetal pancreas. Diabetes 54:2080-2089.
  3. R. Wang, J. Li, N. K. Yashpal, N. Gao (2005). Nestin expression and clonal analysis of islet-derived epithelial monolayers: insight into nestin-expressing cell heterogeneity and differentiation potential. J Endocrinology 184:329-339.
  4. R. Wang, J. Li, N. K. Yashpal (2004). Phenotypic analysis of c-Kit expression in epithelial monolayers derived from postnatal rat pancreatic islets. J. Endocrinology, 182:113-122.
  5. N. K. Yashpal, J. Li, R. Wang (2004). Characterization of c-Kit and nestin expression during islet cell development in the prenatal and postnatal rat pancreas. Developmental Dynamics 229(4):813-825.
  6. R. Wang, J. Li and L Rosenberg (2001). Factors mediating the transdifferentiation of islets of Langerhans to duct epithelial-like structures. J Endocrinology 171:309-319.
  7. R. Wang, L. Rosenberg (1999). Maintenance of islet beta-cell function and survival following islet isolation requires re-establishment of the islet-matrix relationship. J Endocrinology 163:181-190.
  8. R. Wang, J.F. Rehfeld, F.C. Nielsen, G. Klöppel (1997). Expression of gastrin and transforming growth factor-a during duct to islet cell differentiation in the pancreas of duct-ligated adult rats. Diabetologia 40:887-893.
  9. R. Wang, L. Bouwens, G. Klöppel. (1996). Beta-cell growth in adolescent and adult rats treated with streptozotocin during the neonatal period. Diabetologia 39: 548-557 .
  10. R. Wang, G. Klöppel, L Bouwens. (1995). Duct to islet cell differentiation and islet growth in the pancreas of duct-ligated adult rats. Diabetologia 38: 1405-1411.