Yemin Wang

Dr. Yemin Wang is an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia, as well as a senior research scientist in the Ovarian Cancer Research (OVCARE) Center and Vancouver Prostate Centre at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. 

Dr. Wang’s lab studies how genetic mutations drives the development and progression of rare aggressive ovarian and endometrial cancers to inform targeted therapeutics. The overarching theme of his research is to dissect mechanisms by which genetic and epigenetic events drive malignant transformation and subsequent progression to a poorly differentiated and highly aggressive state that inform the development of prevention and targeted therapeutics. Two major types of cancers that his team studies include SWI/SNF-mutant cancers and DICER1 syndrome-associated cancers.

Dr. Wang obtained his PhD degree in Experimental Medicine at the University of British Columbia in 2009, studying the roles of ING family proteins in melanoma pathogenesis. He then pursued postdoctoral studies at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, exploring the role of microRNAs in DNA damaging response and chemoresistance. In 2012, he joined the laboratory of Dr. David Huntsman lab at BC Cancer Research Centre as postdoctoral fellows of Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research to study how genetic mutations in microRNA biogenesis gene DICER1 drive rare ovarian cancer development.