Weigang Wang

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

• Potent Dual BET/HDAC Inhibitors for Efficient Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

  Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 2020-01-14 · 149 citations

  articleCorresponding

  Abstract As one of the most aggressive and lethal human malignancies with extremely poor prognosis, there is an urgent demand of more effective therapy for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Reported here is a new, effective therapeutic strategy and the design of small‐molecule inhibitors that simultaneously target bromodomain and extra‐terminal (BET) and histone deacetylase (HDAC), potentially serving as promising therapeutic agents for pancreatic cancer. A highly potent dual inhibitor ( 13 a…

  PublisherDOI

• Synthesis of Enantioenriched α-Deuterated α-Amino Acids Enabled by an Organophotocatalytic Radical Approach

  Organic Letters · 2020-02-11 · 81 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  A mild, versatile organophotoredox protocol has been developed for the preparation of diverse, enantioenriched α-deuterated α-amino acids. Distinct from the well-established two-electron transformations, this radical-based strategy offers the unrivaled capacity of the convergent unification of readily accessible feedstock carboxylic acids and a chiral methyleneoxazolidinone fragment and the simultaneous highly diastereo-, chemo-, and regioselective incorporation of deuterium. Furthermore, the ap…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Selective skeletal editing of polycyclic arenes using organophotoredox dearomative functionalization

  Nature Communications · 2022 · 44 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Reactions that lead to destruction of aromatic ring systems often require harsh conditions and, thus, take place with poor selectivities. Selective partial dearomatization of fused arenes is even more challenging but can be a strategic approach to creating versatile, complex polycyclic frameworks. Herein we describe a general organophotoredox approach for the chemo- and regioselective dearomatization of structurally diverse polycyclic aromatics, including quinolines, isoquinolines, quinoxalines,…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Photocatalyst-free photochemical deuteration via H/D exchange with D2O

  Nature Communications · 2025-07-22 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Deuterium labeling is increasingly important across scientific fields, from drug development to materials engineering, but current methods often require expensive catalysts. Here we demonstrate a simple, photocatalyst-free approach for incorporating deuterium into organic molecules using visible light. By employing common thiol compounds under mild blue-light irradiation (380–420 nm), we successfully modify two key chemical groups (formyl and α-amino) with high efficiency (up to 96% deuterium in…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• p47phox: A Central Regulator of NADPH Oxidase Function and a Promising Therapeutic Target in Redox-Related Diseases

  Cells · 2025-07-08 · 6 citations

  reviewOpen access

  The NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) complex is a critical regulator of immune homeostasis. It is utilized by phagocytic leukocytes including neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that drive microbe clearance and modulate inflammatory responses. Within NOX2, the essential scaffold protein p47phox plays a pivotal role in orchestrating enzyme activation and facilitating the assembly and membrane translocation of cytosolic components of the complex. Tight regulatio…

  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

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

Similar researchers at University of Arizona

• Jay Quadeh-83
• Hsinchun Chenh-67
• Natasha Warnerh-30