Wenjie Wang

Wenjie Wang is following in her grandfather’s footsteps. He was a doctor in China, an expert at reading MRI scans and could easily identify which diseases were affecting patients’ brains. At FIU, Wenjie found a biomarker in glioblastoma brain cancer cell lines that could one day be used to tell if cancer treatment drugs would be effective for treating the cancer. She has received national recognition for her research and was invited to speak at the Gordon Research Seminar in 2018.

But more than just following in the family business, her fight against glioblastoma is personal. Her aunt died from glioblastoma, the deadliest brain cancer. People diagnosed with this cancer usually have about 15 months to live. Wenjie jumped at the chance to study the lethal cancer at FIU under Biomolecular Sciences Institute Director Yuk-Ching Tse-Dinh.

Further clinical trials are needed to confirm the results of Wenjie’s work – work she is hoping to continue as a postdoctoral researcher at a major national medical research facility.

By Chrystian Tejedor
Account Manager
College of Arts, Sciences & Education