Wenjun Wang portrait

Wenjun Wang

Mechano-Metabolic Biologist

NIH F99/K00 Postdoctoral Fellow

Publications

Full publication list available on Google Scholar.

  1. Wang, Wenjun, Lauren A. Hapach, Paul V. Taufalele, Madison E. Bates, Yusheng Wu, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Diabetic hyperglycemia-induced glycation regulates tumor vasculature integrity via NF-κB-mediated GM-CSF secretion by tumor cells." Cell Biomaterials (2025).
  2. Schunk, Curtis T.*, Wang, Wenjun*, Lindsey N. Sabo, Paul V. Taufalele, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Matrix stiffness increases energy efficiency of endothelial cells." Matrix Biology (2024). (*Co-first author)
  3. Wang, Wenjun, Matthew R. Zanotelli, Lindsey N. Sabo, Emily D. Fabiano, Natalie M. Goldfield, Chloe Le, Elle P. Techasiriwan, Santiago Lopez, Emily D. Berestesky, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Collagen density regulates tip–stalk cell rearrangement during angiogenesis via cellular bioenergetics." APL Bioengineering 8, no. 2 (2024). Featured Article
  4. Wang, Wenjun, Paul V. Taufalele, Martial Millet, Kevin Homsy, Kyra Smart, Emily D. Berestesky, Curtis T. Schunk, Matthew M. Rowe, Francois Bordeleau, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Matrix stiffness regulates tumor cell intravasation through expression and ESRP1-mediated alternative splicing of MENA." Cell Reports 42, no. 4 (2023).
  5. Hapach, Lauren A.*, Wang, Wenjun*, Lauren Griggs, Kyra Smart, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Matthew M. Rowe, Katherine M. Young, Madison E. Bates, Andrew C. Johnson, Nicholas J. Ferrell, Ambra Pozzi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation-induced tumor extracellular matrix stiffening." Science Advances 8, no. 46 (2022): eabo1673. (*Co-first author)
  6. Taufalele, Paul V.*, Wang, Wenjun*, Alan J. Simmons, Austin N. Southard-Smith, Bob Chen, Joshua D. Greenlee, Michael R. King, Ken S. Lau, Duane C. Hassane, François Bordeleau, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Matrix stiffness enhances cancer-macrophage interactions and M2-like macrophage accumulation in the breast tumor microenvironment." Acta Biomaterialia (2022). (*Co-first author)
  7. Hapach, Lauren A.*, Mosier, Jenna A.*, Wang, Wenjun*, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Engineered models to parse apart the metastatic cascade." NPJ Precision Oncology 3, no. 1 (2019): 1-8. (*Co-first author)
  8. Wang, Wenjun, Joseph P. Miller, Susan C. Pannullo, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King, and François Bordeleau. "Quantitative assessment of cell contractility using polarized light microscopy." Journal of Biophotonics 11, no. 11 (2018): e201800008.
  9. Wang, Wenjun, Emmanuel M. Lollis, François Bordeleau, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Matrix stiffness regulates vascular integrity through focal adhesion kinase activity." FASEB Journal 33, no. 1 (2019): 1199-1208.
  10. Bader, Jackie E., Matthew Madden, Bradley Reinfeld, Melissa Wolf, Matthew Cottam, Xiang Ye, Vassiliki Boussiotis, Kathryn Beckerman, Alyssa Hasty, W. Rathmell, Emily Arner, Emma Hathaway, KayLee Steiner, Gabriel Needle, Madelyn Landis, Anthos Christofides, Scott M. Haake, Zaid Hatem, Eden Faneuff, Amondrea Blackman, Carlos Serezani, Madison E. Bates, Kyra Smart, Wenjun Wang, Cynthia Reinhart-King, Laura Pinheiro, Kathryn Wellen, Elysa Wolf, Gian Luca Lupica-Tondo, Jeffrey Rathmell. "Obesity induces PD-1 on macrophages to suppress anti-tumour immunity." Nature (2024): 1-8.
  11. King, Simon M., Ismael Ortiz, Nicole S. Sarna, Wenjun Wang, Maria Lopez-Cavestany, and Zhenjiang Zhang. "Retention of E-selectin functionalized liposome Fanny packs on Jurkat cells following invasion through collagen." Journal of Immunological Methods (2024): 113700.
  12. Zanotelli, Matthew R.*, Joseph P. Miller*, Wenjun Wang, Ismael Ortiz, Elise Tahon, François Bordeleau, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Tension directs cancer cell migration over fiber alignment through energy minimization." Biomaterials 311 (2024): 122682. (*Co-first author)
  13. Zhang, Jian, Jenna A. Mosier, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Wenjun Wang, Heng Sun, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Cellular Energy Cycle Mediates an Advection-Like Forward Cell Flow to Support Collective Invasion." Advanced Science (2024): 2400719.
  14. Hapach, Lauren A., Wenjun Wang, Samantha C. Schwager, Devika Pokhriyal, Emily D. Fabiano, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Phenotypically sorted highly and weakly migratory triple negative breast cancer cells exhibit migratory and metastatic commensalism." Breast Cancer Research 25, 102 (2023).
  15. Zhang, Jian, Jenna Mosier, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Wenjun Wang, Heng Sun, and Cynthia Reinhart-King. "The entropy of cancer cell migration: Bioenergetics and cell proliferation support invasive migration in 3D." Biophysical Journal 122, no. 3 (2023): 535a.
  16. Rowe, Matthew M., Wenjun Wang, Paul V. Taufalele, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "AGE-breaker ALT711 reverses glycation-mediated cancer cell migration." Soft Matter 18, no. 44 (2022): 8504-8513.
  17. Schwager, Samantha C., Katherine Young, Lauren A. Hapach, Caroline M. Carlson, Jenna A. Mosier, Tanner J. McArdle, Wenjun Wang, Curtis Schunk, Anissa L. Jayathilake, Madison E. Bates, François Bordeleau, Marc A. Antonyak, Richard A. Cerione, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Weakly migratory metastatic breast cancer cells activate fibroblasts via microvesicle-Tg2 to facilitate dissemination and metastasis." eLife 11 (2022): e74433.
  18. Zanotelli, Matthew R., Jian Zhang, Ismael Ortiz, Wenjun Wang, Neil C. Chada, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Highly motile cells are metabolically-responsive to collagen density." PNAS 119, no. 18 (2022): e2114672119.
  19. Hapach, Lauren A., Shawn P. Carey, Samantha C. Schwager, Paul V. Taufalele, Wenjun Wang, Jenna A. Mosier, Nerymar Ortiz-Otero, Tanner J. McArdle, Zachary E. Goldblatt, Marsha C. Lampi, François Bordeleau, Jocelyn R. Marshall, Isaac M. Richardson, Jiahe Li, Michael R. King and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Phenotypic heterogeneity and metastasis of breast cancer cells." Cancer Research 81, no. 13 (2021): 3649-3663.
  20. Grayson, Korie A., Jacob M. Hope, Wenjun Wang, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King, and Michael R. King. "Taxanes Sensitize Prostate Cancer Cells to TRAIL-Induced Apoptotic Synergy via Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress." Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 20, no. 5 (2021): 833-845.
  21. Ortiz-Otero, Nerymar, Andrea B. Clinch, Jacob Hope, Wenjun Wang, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King, and Michael R. King. "Cancer Associated Fibroblasts Confer Shear Resistance to Circulating Tumor Cells During Prostate Cancer Metastatic Progression." Oncotarget 11, no. 12 (2020).
  22. Bordeleau, François, Wenjun Wang, Alysha Simmons, Marc A. Antonyak, Richard A. Cerione, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Tissue transglutaminase 2 regulates tumor cell tensional homeostasis by increasing contractility." Journal of Cell Science 133, no. 1 (2020).
  23. Hope, Jacob M., Maria Lopez-Cavestany, Wenjun Wang, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King, and Michael R. King. "Activation of Piezo1 sensitizes cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis through mitochondrial outer membrane permeability." Cell Death & Disease 10, no. 11 (2019): 1-15.
  24. Zhang, Jian, Kayla F. Goliwas, Wenjun Wang, Paul V. Taufalele, François Bordeleau, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Energetic regulation of coordinated leader–follower dynamics during collective invasion of breast cancer cells." PNAS 116, no. 16 (2019): 7867-7872.
  25. LaValley, Danielle J., Matthew R. Zanotelli, François Bordeleau, Wenjun Wang, Samantha C. Schwager, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. "Matrix stiffness enhances VEGFR-2 internalization, signaling, and proliferation in endothelial cells." Convergent Science Physical Oncology 3, no. 4 (2017): 044001.
  26. Fort, Loic; Wenjun Wang; Ian Macara. "Actomyosin Contractility is a Potent Suppressor of Mesoderm Induction by Human Pluripotent Stem Cells." (In revision at Cell Stem Cell).

Selected Talks and Poster Presentations

Invited Talks

  1. Wang, Wenjun, Curtis T. Schunk, Lindsey N. Sabo, Paul V. Taufalele, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Energetic efficiency of cell contractility is driven by the mechanics of the microenvironment [abstract]. In: Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting; 2024 Oct 23-26; Baltimore, Maryland (MD). Abstract ID: 1833596.
  2. Wang, Wenjun, Lauren A. Hapach, Paul V. Taufalele, Madison E. Bates, Yusheng Wu, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia-induced glycation regulates tumor vasculature barrier integrity via NF-κB-mediated tumor cell angiogenic cytokine secretion [abstract]. In: Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting; 2023 Oct 11-14; Seattle, Washington (WA). Abstract ID: 1533068.
  3. Wang, Wenjun, Lauren A. Hapach, Lauren Griggs, Kyra Smart, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Matthew M. Rowe, Andrew C. Johnson, Nicholas J. Ferrell, Ambra Pozzi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation-mediated ECM stiffening [abstract]. In: National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute F99/K00 Awardees Annual Meeting; 2023 Aug 28-29; Bethesda, Maryland (MD).
  4. Wang, Wenjun, Lauren A. Hapach, Lauren Griggs, Kyra Smart, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Matthew M. Rowe, Andrew C. Johnson, Nicholas J. Ferrell, Ambra Pozzi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation-mediated ECM stiffening [abstract]. In: Cell & Tissue Mechanics Seminar Series (Junior Investigators Highlights); 2023 Aug 10 (Virtual).
  5. Wang, Wenjun*, Lauren A. Hapach*, Lauren Griggs, Kyra Smart, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Matthew M. Rowe, Andrew C. Johnson, Nicholas J. Ferrell, Ambra Pozzi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation-mediated ECM stiffening [abstract]. In: Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting; 2022 Oct 12-15; San Antonio, Texas (TX). Abstract Number: 074-4608 (*co-first author).
  6. Wang, Wenjun, Lauren A. Hapach, Lauren Griggs, Kyra Smart, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Matthew M. Rowe, Andrew C. Johnson, Nicholas J. Ferrell, Ambra Pozzi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation-mediated ECM stiffening [abstract]. In: Vanderbilt Center on Mechanobiology Inaugural Retreat; 2022 Aug 15; Nashville, Tennessee (TN).
  7. Wang, Wenjun*, Paul V. Taufalele*, Alan J. Simmons, Austin Southard-Smith, Bob Chen, Ken Lau, Duane C. Hassane, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Increased matrix stiffness enhances M2-like macrophage accumulation in the breast tumor microenvironment. In: Tumor Microenvironment and Immunology Meeting; 2021 Nov 1; Nashville, Tennessee (TN) (*co-first author, oral presentation).
  8. Wang, Wenjun, Lauren A. Hapach, Lauren Griggs, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Andrew Johnson, Cynthia Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes tumor progression through glycation-mediated matrix stiffening [abstract]. In: Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting; 2020 Oct 14-17; Virtual due to Covid-19. Abstract Number: 188 (on-demand presentation).
  9. Wang, Wenjun*, Lauren A. Hapach*, Andrew C. Johnson, Lauren Griggs, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Andrew C. Johnson, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation-mediated matrix stiffening [abstract]. In: VICC Breast Cancer Research Program Retreat; 2020 Aug 17; Nashville, Tennessee (TN) (*co-first author).
  10. Wang, Wenjun, Paul V. Taufalele, François Bordeleau, and Cynthia Reinhart-King. Matrix stiffness regulates tumor cell intravasation through macrophage infiltration [abstract]. In: Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting; 2019 Oct 16-19; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA). Abstract Number: 750.
  11. Wang, Wenjun, Emmanuel Lollis, François Bordeleau, Cynthia Reinhart-King. Matrix stiffness regulates vascular integrity through focal adhesion kinase activity [abstract]. In: Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting; 2018 Oct 17-20; Atlanta, Georgia (GA). Abstract Number: 342.

Posters

  1. Wang, Wenjun, Paul V. Taufalele, Martial Millet, Kevin Homsy, Kyra Smart, Emily D. Berestesky, Curtis T. Schunk, Matthew M. Rowe, François Bordeleau, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. ECM Stiffness Regulates Tumor Cell Intravasation through ESRP1-mediated Alternative Splicing of MENA [abstract]. In: 2023 Annual Cell and Development Biology Retreat; 2023 Apr 14; Nashville, Tennessee (TN). Abstract number: 20.
  2. Wang, Wenjun*, Lauren A. Hapach*, Lauren Griggs, Kyra Smart, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Matthew M. Rowe, Andrew C. Johnson, Nicholas J. Ferrell, Ambra Pozzi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation-mediated ECM stiffening [abstract]. In: Gordon Research Seminar & Gordon Research Conference; 2023 Feb 04-10; Galveston, Texas (TX). (Spotlight Presentation).
  3. Wang, Wenjun*, Lauren A. Hapach*, Lauren Griggs, Kyra Smart, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Matthew M. Rowe, Andrew C. Johnson, Nicholas J. Ferrell, Ambra Pozzi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation-mediated ECM stiffening [abstract]. In: Vanderbilt Diabetes Day; 2022 Apr 26; Nashville, Tennessee (TN). Abstract number: 12.
  4. Wang, Wenjun*, Lauren A. Hapach*, Lauren Griggs, Kyra Smart, Yusheng Wu, Paul V. Taufalele, Matthew M. Rowe, Andrew C. Johnson, Nicholas J. Ferrell, Ambra Pozzi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation-mediated ECM stiffening [abstract]. In: VICC Breast Cancer Research Program Retreat; 2022 May 2; Nashville, Tennessee (TN). Abstract number: F-6. (*co-first author, Poster Presentation Award Third Place Prize).
  5. Wang, Wenjun, Paul V. Taufalele, François Bordeleau, Cynthia Reinhart-King. ECM Stiffness Regulates Tumor Cell Intravasation through ESRP1-mediated Alternative Splicing of MENA [abstract]. In: Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting; 2021 Oct 6-9; Orlando, Florida (FL). Abstract Number: 033-1526.
  6. Wang, Wenjun, François Bordeleau, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King. Matrix Stiffness Contributes to Tumor Cell Intravasation [abstract]. In: Seventeenth Annual Cell and Development Biology Retreat; 2019 May 17; Nashville, Tennessee (TN).
  7. Wang, Wenjun, Joseph Miller, Susan Pannullo, Cynthia Reinhart-King, François Bordeleau. Measuring Cell Contractility Using Quantitative Polarization Microscopy [abstract]. In: Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting; 2018 Oct 17-20; Atlanta, Georgia (GA). Abstract Number: 317.

Contact

Wenjun Wang, Ph.D.
NIH F99/K00 Postdoctoral Fellow
Harvard University
Engineering Science Laboratory
58 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138
📧 wjwang@seas.harvard.edu