Ziwei Wang, MD, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Stony Brook Cancer Center
Department of Pathology MART, Level 8
Email: Ziwei.Wang@stonybrook.edu
Research Interests:
My research aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying environmental risk factor-induced carcinogenesis, with a particular emphasis on extracellular vesicle (EV) biology, epigenetic regulation, and metabolic reprogramming. Several new discoveries have been made recently on how environmental carcinogens and toxicants, such as arsenic and 1,4-dioxane, disrupt cellular homeostasis and promote malignant transformation by altering gene regulation, chromatin architecture, and intercellular communication.
Using several cutting-edge technologies, including CRISPR-based gene editing, ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, 3D chromatin profiling, and computational biology, most recent work highlights the roles of stress-responsive transcription factors Nrf2 and AhR in reshaping epigenetic and metabolic landscape of cells exposed to environmental carcinogens. New evidence indicates that chronic arsenic exposure activates Nrf2 while impairing PRC2 complex activity, leading to imbalanced histone methylation, epigenetic remodeling, metabolic reprogramming, and the acquisition of oncogenic stemness in human iPSCs and lung normal epithelial cells. Notably, a strong Nrf2 dependency of stemness transcription factor KLF4 expression was noted in the human bronchial epithelial cells treated with arsenic under an environmentally relevant condition.
In parallel, transcriptomics and proteomics analysis of isolated EV demonstrated that 1,4-dioxane is highly capable of inducing the selective loading of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related cargo into EVs in an Nrf2 dependent manner. These EVs act as messages to enforce the malignancy of recipient tumor cells. Together, these findings reveal how environmental toxicants hijack both intracellular and intercellular signaling pathways to drive cancer progression.
Education:
2023 - 2025: Postdoc in Pathology, Stony Brook University, NY, USA
2018 - 2023: MD/PhD in Hygiene Toxicology, Sun Yat-sen University, P.R. China
2018: Bachelor of Science in Preventative Medicine, Central South University, P.R. China
Positions and Employment:
August 2025 - Present: Research Assistant Professor, Stony Brook Cancer Center, and Department of Pathology, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, NY, USA
Honors (selected):
2025 Recipient of American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) 2025 Postdoctoral Researcher Award
2025 Recipient of Society of Toxicology (SOT) 2025 the First Place of the AACT InnoStar Best Abstract Award
2024 Recipient of Outstanding Poster Award of the Mark and Gloria Cancer Symposium, Stony Brook University
2023 Recipient of Outstanding Poster Award of Pathology Research Day, Stony Brook University
Publications:
1. Wang Z*, Bi Z, Bamrah J, Qiu Y, Zhang W, Almutairy BS, Ji H, Haley JD, Thakur C, Chen F*. Nrf2 orchestrates epigenetic regulations and serves as the master regulator of KLF4 expression and activity during arsenic-induced transformation. Adv Sci, 2025. https://doi.org/ 10.1002/advs.202500221.
2. Seno A, Bi Z, Polin L, Qiu Y, Zhang W, Pawar A, Thakur C, Seno M, Wang Z*, Chen F*. Genome-wide mapping of arsenic-activated Nrf2 reveals metabolic and epigenetic reprogramming in induced pluripotent stem cells. Redox Biol. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.redox.2025.103773.
3. Ji H, Elangbam M, Qiu Y, Bamrah J, Zhang W, Pawar A, Thakur C, Chen F*, Wang Z*. Arsenic disrupts H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 balance by biasing PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 activity via PALI1 inhibition in carcinogenesis. Int J Biol Sci, 2025; 21(9):4069-4080.
4. Wang Z*, Thakur C, Bi Z, Qiu Y, Zhang W, Ji H, Venkatesan AK, Cherukuri S, Liu KJ, Haley JD, Mao X, Meliker J, Chen F*. 1,4-Dioxane Induces Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Carcinogenesis in an Nrf2-Dependent Manner. J Extracell Vesicles, 2025;14(5):e70072.
5. Zhang W, Wang Z*, Fu Y, Thakur C, Ji H, Bi Z, Qiu Y, Elangbam M, Haley J, Chen F*. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) suppresses arsenic-induced transformation by antagonizing TOX expression. Int J Biol Sci, 2025, 21: 2747-2761.
6. Wang Z*, Thakur C, Seno A, Chen F*. Digging out MDIG from the mess of H3K9me3, OTX2 and MYC signaling in human cancers (Editorial). Int J Biol Sci, 2024, 20:1090-1092.
7. Wang Z*, Chen S, Guo Y, Zhang R, Zhang Q, Jiang X, Li M, Jiang Y, Ye L, Guo X, Li C, Zhang G, Li D, Chen L, Chen W*. Intestinal carcinogenicity screening of environmental pollutants using organoid-based cell transformation assay. Arch Toxicol. 2024, 98(6):1937-1951.
8. Wang Z*, Fu Y, Seno A, Bi Z, Pawar AS, Ji H, Almutairy BS, Qiu Y, Zhang W, Thakur C, Chen F*. Tumor suppressive activity of AHR in environmental arsenic-induced carcinogenesis. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2023, 480:116747.
9. Zhang R†, Chen S†, Wang Z†, Ye L, Jiang Y, Li M, Jiang X, Peng H, Guo Z, Chen L, Zhang R, Niu Y, Aschner M, Li D, Chen W*. Assessing the Effects of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Supplementation on Pulmonary Inflammation in Male Mice Subchronically Exposed to Ambient Particulate Matter. Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Jul;131(7):77006. (†Co-first Author)
10. Wang Z*, Chen S, Pang Y, Ye L, Zhang Q, Jiang X, Zhang R, Li M, Guo Z, Jiang Y, Li D, Xing X, Chen L, Aschner M, Chen W*. Morphological alterations in C57BL/6 mouse intestinal organoids as a tool for predicting chemical-induced toxicity. Arch Toxicol. 2023 Apr;97(4):1133-1146.
11. Wang Z*, Peng H, Zhang R, Jiang X, Chen S, Guo P, Xiao Y, Zeng X, Wang Q, Aschner M, Chou WC, Li D, Chen W*, Chen L*. Assessment of intestinal injury of hexavalent chromium using a modified in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2022 Feb 1;436:115880.