Profile

Photo of Dr. Cun-Yu Wang

Cun-Yu  Wang,  D.D.S., Ph.D.

Professor
Chair of the Division of Oral and Systemic Health Sciences
Dr. No-Hee Park Endowed Chair in Dentistry
cwang@dentistry.ucla.edu
Phone
  • (310) 825-4415
Office
13-089 CHS
Address

UCLA School of Dentistry
10833 Le Conte Ave.
Box 951668
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1668

Classifications
  • Endowed Chairs
  • Full-Time Faculty
Academic Sections
  • Biosystems and Function
Biography

Cun-Yu Wang, DDS, PhD, is the Chair and the Distinguished Professor of the Division of Oral and Systemic Health Sciences at the UCLA School of Dentistry. He holds the Dr. No-Hee Park Endowed Chair in Dentistry, and also is a faculty member of UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and Stem Cell Research Institute. He is an elected member of National Academy of Medicine and an elected fellow of American Association for Dental Research and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Additional Information

Teaching Activities:

  • Course Director for Oral Biology 260, required for M.S. and Ph.D. students Oral Biology 212

Areas of Expertise: 

  • NF-kB and Wnt signaling, cancer stem cells, adult stem cells, epigenetics, and inflammation
Educational & Professional Background
  • BDS, Nanjing Medical University, Stomatology, 1985
  • DDS, Perking University School of Dentistry (Certificate, Pediatric Dentistry), 1989
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Forsyth Institute, Immunology and Cytokine Biology, 1995
  • PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Genetics and Molecular Biology, 1998
Research & Interests

He works in five major research areas:

1) Molecular signaling and therapeutics of cancer

2) Cancer stem cells and metastasis

3) Molecular regulation of oral inflammation and infection

4) Molecular control of adult stem cell properties and bone regeneration

5) Epigenetic control of aging. He has made a landmark discovery on the regulation of cancer cell death by NF-κB, a transcription factor associated with inflammation and immune responses. 

  • Molecular Signaling (NF-κB and Wnt)
  • Tumor-invasive growth and Metastasis
  • Adult mesenchymal stem cells, dental stem cells and regenerative medicine
  • Inflammation and innate immunity
Publications
Professional Memberships
  • IADR/AADR
Awards
  • IADR Young Investigator Award, 1999
  • IADR/AADR William J. Gies Award in Biological Research, 2003 and 2009
  • IADR Distinguished Scientist Award for Oral Pathology and Medicine, 2009
  • IADR Distinguished Scientist Award for Basic Research in Biological Mineralization, 2013
  • NIH MERIT Award