About

Weigang Wang is a Professor of Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Delaware in 2008. His research focuses on the transport of charge and spin at nanoscales, aiming to enhance the understanding of fundamental physics and develop applications such as nonvolatile magnetic memories and logic units. His work explores new mechanisms to lower the switching energy of nanomagnets, with an emphasis on spintronic applications involving new materials, structures, and device concepts. Additionally, he is involved in the fabrication of nanostructures through methods like self-assembly and lithography, with applications in magnetic, biological, and energy fields. Wang has received several honors, including the NSF CAREER Award in 2016, the Distinguished Scholar Award from the University of Arizona in 2022, and the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award from the Department of Physics in 2018.

Research topics

• Organic chemistry
• Chemistry
• Combinatorial chemistry

Selected publications

• The impact of quality of work life, professional identity, and job burnout on presenteeism among family doctors: a cross-sectional study in China

  Frontiers in Public Health · 2026-02-18

  articleOpen access

  Background To foster high-quality healthcare, family doctors plays a crucial role in China's primary healthcare system. Facing dual pressures in medical care and public health, family doctors are vulnerable group to presenteeism. This study aims to explore their quality of work life, professional identity, job burnout and the presenteeism, and analyzes the factors affecting the presenteeism. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 731 family doctors from May 2021 to April 2022. Pearson correlation analysis assessed the correlation between quality of work life, professional identity, job burnout and presenteeism, and multiple linear regression analysis determined the influencing factors of presenteeism. Results The Work-Related Quality of Life and Professional Identity displayed negative correlations with the presenteeism ( p < 0.01), and the job burnout showed positive correlations with the presenteeism ( p < 0.01). Hierarchical linear regression revealed significant impacts of work stress (β = −0.144, p = 0.033), tendency to professional behavior (β = −0.239, p < 0.001), professional values (β = −0.115, p = 0.042), sense of professional belonging (β = −0.198, p = 0.004), emotional exhaustion (β = 0.168, p = 0.009), depersonalization (β = 0.183, p = 0.006), and professional efficacy (β = 0.148, p = 0.033) on presenteeism. Conclusions The study indicates that the higher the quality of work life, the higher the level of professional identity and the lower the level of job burnout, the lower will be the level of presenteeism among family doctors. Addressing these elements through targeted interventions, such as dynamic talent allocation, enhancing professional identity, and mitigating burnout, could reduce presenteeism.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Discovery of a Novel, Potent, and Selective 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2B Receptor Antagonist that Induces Mitochondrial Biogenesis in the Kidney

  ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science · 2025-05-30 · 2 citations

  article

  Serotonin, or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), is a multifaceted neurotransmitter that plays a vital role in the central nervous system (CNS). Beyond the CNS, 5-HT is intricately involved in modulating hemostasis, immune response, blood pressure, and metabolism in tissues such as skeletal muscle, heart, and kidney. Accumulating evidence highlights the interplay between 5-HT receptors and mitochondrial bioenergetics. Here, we report the discovery of a novel, potent, and selective 5-hydroxytryptamine 2B receptor (5-HT2BR) antagonist, MARY1, which induces mitochondrial biogenesis (MB) in the kidney. MARY1 is a small molecule belonging to the pyridinylpiperazine class that exhibits selectivity and moderate affinity (Ki = 764 nM) for the human 5-HT2BR, as well as efficacy (IC50 = 380 nM; Emax = 90%) in cellular-based binding and functional assays. Treatment with MARY1 (1 nM) increases mitochondrial respiratory capacity, mitochondrial protein levels, and mitochondrial number in renal proximal tubule cells (RPTCs). Mechanistically, the MB effects of MARY1 in RPTCs are mediated through 5-HT2BR and the activation of dual cell signaling pathways: PI3K/AKT and RAS/MEK/ERK. Moreover, MARY1 administration in mice and rats induces renal cortical MB, and increases levels of mitochondrial and fatty acid oxidation proteins. These findings identify MARY1 as a selective and potent 5-HT2BR antagonist that induces MB and enhances mitochondrial function in the kidney, offering a potential therapeutic strategy for metabolic and mitochondrial dysfunction-associated renal disorders.

  PublisherDOI

• Discovery of novel and highly potent anticancer agents enabled by selenium scanning of noscapine

  European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · 2025-04-30 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Letter to the Editor Regarding “Perilesional Branch Duct Dilation as a Hallmark MRCP Feature for Differentiating High-Grade PanIN from Low-Grade PanIN”

  Pancreatology · 2025-07-30

  letterSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Bromodomain containing protein 4 (BRD4) and cancer therapy: A glimpse at dual-target drug development

  Biochemical Pharmacology · 2025-10-11 · 2 citations

  reviewSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Proteolysis targeting chimeras as senolytics: An emerging senotherapy for combating aging

  Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics · 2025-10-15 · 4 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Intranasal insulin enhances postoperative sleep quality and delirium in middle-aged cardiac surgery patients: A randomized controlled trial

  Sleep Medicine · 2025-05-10 · 6 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Periodic Mesoporous Single-Atom Pd(0)-PPh ₂ -PMO(Et) Catalyst with High Activity and Stability in Water-Medium Organic Reactions

  ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces · 2025-12-01 · 1 citations

  article

  -ligand to inhibit gathering and leaching. This work offers a promising approach to designing robust heterogeneous single-atom organometal catalysts for water-medium reactions.

  PublisherDOI

• Missing Values in Longitudinal Proteomics Studies: Making a Case for Data Multiple Imputation

  Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology Plus · 2025-06-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Head-to-head comparison of [18F]florbetapir and [18F]FDG PET for the early detection of amyloidosis in systemic amyloidosis and plasma cell dyscrasias

  European Journal of Radiology · 2025-05-21 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  <h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Rationale and objectives</h3> Systemic amyloidosis is underdiagnosed in light-chain amyloidosis (AL), as is plasma cell dyscrasias (PCD). Early detection and accurate evaluation of organ involvement in systemic amyloidosis remain critical challenges. We aimed to assess the utility of [¹⁸F]florbetapir (FBP) and [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) for the early detection and evaluation of organ involvement in systemic amyloidosis. <h3>Materials and methods</h3> We included 66 participants and performed biochemical assays in serum and urine and whole-body PET/computed tomography using [¹⁸F]FBP and [¹⁸F]FDG, followed by visual, maximum standardized uptake value (SUV_max), and target-to-background ratio (TBR) analyses. The clinical evaluation of organ involvement was based on the histological analysis of tissue biopsies obtained from suspected organs in AL and PCD cases. <h3>Results</h3> [¹⁸F]FBP SUV_max and TBR analyses revealed comparable uptake in AL patients and significantly greater uptake than in PCD patients. Distinct regional distributions of [¹⁸F]FBP and [¹⁸F]FDG were observed between the PCD and AL groups. The [¹⁸F]FBP SUV_max and visual analysis provided comparable measures of organ involvement and demonstrated high sensitivity, outperforming [¹⁸F]FDG in detecting organ amyloidosis in both PCD and AL patients. More organ involvement was detected by [¹⁸F]FBP PET (SUV_max or visual) than by biopsies based evaluation. <h3>Conclusion</h3> [¹⁸F]FBP PET, through both visual and SUV_max analysis, is more sensitive than [¹⁸F]FDG PET and biopsy-based analysis for detecting organ amyloidosis in PCD and AL patients. It serves as a valuable noninvasive method for the early and accurate detection of systemic amyloidosis, with the potential to improve diagnostic precision and facilitate timely intervention in systemic amyloidosis patients.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant P20RR016480

  NIH · $27.9M · 2014

• SusChEM: Direct functionalization of aldehydes enabled by aminocatalysis

  NSF · $85k · 2019–2019

• Oxidative Enamine Catalysis in Organic Synthesis

  NSF · $455k · 2011–2015

• Bifunctional Organic Molecule-Mediated Catalysis

  NSF · $421k · 2007–2010

• Organocatalytic Practical Synthesis of Deuterated Building Blocks and Biologically Important Structures

  NIH · $945k · 2018–2023

Frequent coauthors

• Hao Li

  East China University of Science and Technology

  114 shared

• Shilei Zhang

  Soochow University

  91 shared

• Wenhu Duan

  Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica

  75 shared

• Hao Li

  71 shared

• Xiangmin Li

  60 shared

• Liansuo Zu

  Tsinghua University

  55 shared

• Hexin Xie

  East China University of Science and Technology

  54 shared

• Xiaobei Chen

  Jiangsu University

  52 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Chemistry

  North Carolina State University

  2000

Awards & honors

• CSM Fellow, 2024
• Distinguished Scholar Award, University of Arizona, 2022
• Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, Department of Phys…
• NSF CAREER Award, 2016