Florida State University

Yuan Wang Ph.D.

Yuan Wang Ph.D.

Professor

(850) 645-4934
Main Campus

My research team studies cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neural circuit and synaptic maturation and explore the neuropathology of psychiatric disorders. Prior to joining the faculty of Florida State University College of Medicine in 2015, I completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California at San Diego and University of Washington.

Post-Doctoral training, University of Washington
Post-Doctoral training, University of California, San Diego
Ph.D., Chinese Academy of Sciences; Major: Biophysics

Review Editor

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology-Signaling

Frontiers in Neurogenesis

Journal Ad Hoc Review

Cerebral Cortex; Journal of Alzheimer's Disease; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA (PNAS)

Molecular Psychiatry; Molecular Genome; Journal of Neuroscience; Experimental Brain Research

Public Library of Science One (PLoS ONE); Visual Neuroscience; Brain Research Bullet

Cell & Tissue Research; Environmental Research; Proteomics-Clinical Applications

Journal of Proteomics; Journal of Comparative Neurology; Journal of Comparative Physiology A

RNA Biology; Hearing Research; Neurotoxicology and Teratology; Neuroscience

Grant Review

NDPR Study Section, NIH

Auditory Study Section (AUD), NLH/NIDCD

Special Emphasis Section, NIH

Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CMMRP), DoD

Institutional Service (FSU)

Institutional Animal Care and USE Committee (ACUC)

Research Space Committee. College of Medicine

Research Committee. Biomedical Sciences Department

Summer Research Committee. College of Medicine

Postdoctoral Association Committee. Biomedical Sciences Department

Faculty Evaluation Committee. Biomedical Sciences Department

Medical student (M1/2) advisor

PhD Committees

 

Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO)

Society for Neuroscience (SfN)

Foundations of Clinical Physiology; Physician Assistant Program (Course director; Instructor)

Developmental CNS; BMS Graduate Program (Course director; Instructor)                                

Systemic Physiology and Pathophysiology-1; Physician Assistant Program (Instructor)

Tools of Trade; BMS Graduate Program (Instructor)

 

We aim to explore the fundamental mechanisms that guide the development of a healthy brain. Our research involves determining how brain circuits assemble for their specialized functions and identifying the specific steps along this process that, when disrupted, lead to severe neurological disorders. Currently, we focus on three disease conditions: fragile X syndrome (FXS), which is a leading single-gene cause of autism and intellectual disability; fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), a severe neurodevelopmental disorder; and hearing loss, which is the most common birth defect among newborns and a common problem for older adults. We develop animal models to uncover underlying pathological mechanisms that are unique or common across these diseases.

Full publications of Dr. Yuan Wang: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/yuan.wang.2/bibliography/public/

  1. Wang H, Alquraish, D, Yu X, Wang Y, Lu Y (2025) Conditional mGluR5 Knockout in Glutamatergic Pathways 1 Disrupts the Development of Excitatory Synaptic Transmission onto Mouse MNTB Neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology. 134(5):1749-176
  2. Jessup M, Tice AL, McNeill A, Tangen A, Liu ML, McCarthy DM, Bhide PG, Steiner JL, Wang Y (2025). PAE Auditory deficits in a mouse model of first-trimester prenatal alcohol exposure. Developmental Neuroscience.
  3. McCarthy DM, Vied C, Trupiano MX, Canekeratne AJ, Wang Y, Schatschneider C, Bhide PG (2024). Behavioral, neurotransmitter and transcriptomic analyses in male and female Fmr1 KO mice. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 18:1458502.

  4. Yu X, Wang Y. 2023. Peripheral Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein is required for the timely closure of a critical period for neuronal susceptibility in the ventral cochlear nucleus. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 17. 

  5. Wang H, Peng K, Curry RJ, Li D, Wang Y, Wang X, Lu Y. 2023. Group I metabotropic glutamate receptor-triggered temporally patterned action potential-dependent spontaneous synaptic transmission in mouse MNTB neurons. Hearing Research 435:10882

  6. Manubens-Gil L, et al (2023). BigNeuron: a resource to benchmark and predict performance of algorithms for automated tracing of neurons in light microscopy datasets. Nature Methods 20:824-835.
  7. Wang X, Sela-Donenfeld D, Wang Y (2023). Axonal and presynaptic FMRP: Localization, signal, and functional implications. Hearing Research 430:108720. 
  8. Wang X, Fan Q, Yu X, Wang Y (2023). Cellular distribution of the Fragile X mental retardation protein in the inner ear: a developmental and comparative study in the mouse, rat, gerbil, and chicken. Journal of Comparative Neurology 531:149–169.
  9. Yu X, Wang Y (2022). Tonotopic differentiation of presynaptic neurotransmitter-releasing machinery in the auditory brainstem during the prehearing period and its selective deficits in Fmr1 knockout mice. Journal of Comparative Neurology 530:3248-3269.
  10. Fan Q, Zhang X, Wang Y, Wang X (2022). Dissecting Cell-Autonomous Function of Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein in an Auditory Circuit by In Ovo Electroporation. JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments):e6418
  11. Yu X, Wang X, Sakano H, Zorio DAR, Wang Y (2021). Dynamics of the fragile X mental retardation protein correlates with cellular and synaptic properties in primary auditory neurons following afferent deprivation. J Comp Neurol. 529(3):481-500. 
  12. Peng K, Wang X, Wang Y, Li D, Huang H, Lu Y (2020). Mechanisms underlying enhancement of spontaneous glutamate release by group 1 mGluRs at a central auditory synapse. Journal of Neuroscience. 40(37):7027-7042.
  13. Wang X, Kohl A, Yu X, Zorio DAR, Klar A, Sela-Donenfeld D, Wang Y (2020). Temporal-specific roles of fragile X mental retardation protein in the development of the hindbrain auditory circuit. Development.147(21):dev188797.
  14. McCullagh EA, Rotschafer SE, Auerbach BD, Klug A, Kaczmarek LK, Cramer KS, Kulesza RJ Jr, Razak KA, Lovelace JW, Lu Y, Koch U, Wang Y (2020). Mechanisms underlying auditory processing deficits in Fragile X syndrome. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). 34(3):3501-3518.
  15. Zorio DAR, Monsma S, Sanes DH, Golding NL, Rubel EW, Wang Y (2019). De novo sequencing and initial annotation of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) genome. Genomics 111(3):441-449.
  16. Wang X, Zorio DAR, Schecterson L, Lu Y, Wang Y (2018). Postsynaptic FMRP regulates synaptogenesis in vivo in the developing cochlear nucleus. J Neuroscience 38(29):6445-6460.
  17. Hong H, Lu T, Wang X, Wang Y, Sanchez JT (2018). Resurgent sodium current promotes action potential firing in the avian auditory brainstem. J Physiology 596(3):423-443.
  18. Sakano H, Zorio DAR, Wang X, Ting YS, Noble WS, MacCoss MJ, Rubel EW, Wang Y. Proteomic analyses of nucleus laminaris identified candidate targets of the fragile X mental retardation protein. J Comp Neurol. 2017 Oct 15;525(15):3341-3359.
  19. Wang Y, Zorio DAR, Karten HJ. Heterogeneous organization and connectivity of the chicken auditory thalamus (Gallus gallus). J Comp Neurol. 2017 Oct 1;525(14):3044-3071.
  20. Zorio DA, Jackson CM, Liu Y, Rubel EW, Wang Y. Cellular distribution of the fragile X mental retardation protein in the mouse brain. J Comp Neurol. 2017 Mar 1;525(4):818-849.
  21. Wang X, Hong H, Brown DH, Sanchez JT, Wang Y. Distinct Neural Properties in the Low-Frequency Region of the Chicken Cochlear Nucleus Magnocellularis. eNeuro. 2017 Apr 11;4(2).
  22. Beebe K, Wang Y, Kulesza R. Distribution of fragile X mental retardation protein in the human auditory brainstem. Neuroscience. 2014 Jul 25;273:79-91.
  23. Wang Y, Sakano H, Beebe K, Brown MR, de Laat R, Bothwell M, Kulesza RJ Jr, Rubel EW. Intense and specialized dendritic localization of the fragile X mental retardation protein in binaural brainstem neurons: a comparative study in the alligator, chicken, gerbil, and human. J Comp Neurol. 2014 Jun 15;522(9):2107-28.
  24. Wang Y, Rubel EW. In vivo reversible regulation of dendritic patterning by afferent input in bipolar auditory neurons. J Neuroscience. 2012 Aug 15;32(33):11495-504.
  25. Wang Y, Brzozowska-Prechtl A, Karten HJ. Laminar and columnar auditory cortex in avian brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (PNAS). 2010 Jul 13;107(28):12676-81.
  26. Wang Y, Karten HJ. Three subdivisions of the auditory midbrain in chicks (Gallus gallus) identified by their afferent and commissural projections. J Comp Neurol. 2010 Apr 15;518(8):1199-219.
  27. Wang Y, Cunningham DE, Tempel BL, Rubel EW. Compartment-specific regulation of plasma membrane calcium ATPase type 2 in the chick auditory brainstem. J Comp Neurol. 2009 Jun 20;514(6):624-40.



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