Joanne Wang

Dr. Wang obtained her PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of California, San Francisco. She joined the Department of Pharmaceutics as an Assistant Professor in 2000 and is currently a Professor in Pharmaceutics, an affiliate member of FHCRC, and a member of the Plein Center in Geriatrics.

Dr. Wang’s primary research interests are in the area of solute carrier (SLC) proteins that transport nutrients, neurotransmitters, hormones, drugs, and toxins across cell membranes. The central theme of Dr. Wang’s research has been focused on understanding the biology and pharmacology of SLC transporters and their clinical significance in drug disposition and action. Wang is particularly noted for her research on the plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT or ENT4, SLC29A4), a novel neurotransmitter and organic cation transporter first discovered, cloned and characterized in her laboratory. She also has longstanding research interests in cancer therapeutics, drug-induced organ toxicity, drug-drug interactions, and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

Dr. Wang has served as a member of the XNDA study section and on numerous special emphasis panels for the National Institutes of Health as well as a reviewer for several other funding agencies. She has served on the drug metabolism executive committee of the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) and is a member of the editorial advisory boards of Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Metabolism and Disposition.

Research Interests

• Transporters (PMAT, OCTs, OATs and MATEs)
• Anticancer drugs and targeting
• Drug transport at the blood-CSF barrier
• in the CNS
• PMAT as a novel target for CNS disorders
• Transporter-mediated drug-drug interactions