Yaohong Wang
Department of Anatomical Pathology, Division of Pathology-Lab Medicine Div
About Dr. Yaohong Wang
I am an academic gastrointestinal and liver pathologist with a background in both basic science and translational research. My clinical research focuses on integrating emerging technologies to enhance the precision of diagnostic procedures for gastrointestinal and liver diseases, including AI-based histopathologic pattern recognition, spatial transcriptomics, and single-cell analysis. In parallel, I have maintained a long-standing interest in translational research, investigating the role of actin cytoskeleton remodeling in gastrointestinal epithelial cell migration, turnover, apoptosis, and oncogenesis, as well as its impact on mucosal integrity. My ultimate career goal in pathology is to integrate my pathology training and basic science research background into clinical practice and translational research to achieve excellence in patient care.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomical Pathology, Division of Pathology-Lab Medicine Div, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2003 | Peking University Health Science Center, CN, Internal Medicine, Ph.D |
| 1999 | Capital Medical University, CN, Clinical Immunology, M.Sc |
| 1995 | Inner Mongolia Medical University, CN, Clinical Medicine, M.D |
Postgraduate Training
| 2020-2021 | GI Pathology Fellow, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota |
| 2016-2020 | Pathology Resident, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee |
| 2003-2005 | Postgraduate Fellow, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee |
Board Certifications
| 2022 | Diplomate of American Board of Pathology, Anatomic Pathology |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University, 2021 - 2024
Instructor Pathology, University of Tennessee Health Scientific Center, 2008 - 2016
Institutional Committee Activities
Advisory, 2nd International Workshop on Medical Optical Image and Virtual Microscopy (MOVI), 2024 - Present
Member, Research Committee, 2020 - 2021
Member, Leadership Professionalism Development Committee, 2020 - 2021
Member, Gastrointestinal & Liver Pathology Subcommittee, 2020 - 2021
Member, Resident education Committee, 2016 - 2021
Honors & Awards
| 2020 | Masoud Award, University of Tennessee Health Science |
| 2019 | University of Tennessee Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine Training Grant, University of Tennessee Health Science Center |
| 2019 | CAPA-GoPath Best Abstract Award, 108th USCAP Annual Meeting |
| 2018 | Stowell-Orbison Award, USCAP- United States and Canadian Academy of Pthaology |
| 2018 | West Cancer Center Training Grant, University of Tennessee Health Science Center |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Waddell S, Zhao G, Liu Z, Chen H, Zhang W, Wang Y, Miller DD, Yue J, Li W. VERU-111, an orally available tubulin inhibitor, suppresses ovarian tumor growth and metastasis. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 392(1):100006, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39893008.
- Deng R, Cui C, Liu Q, Yao T, Remedios LW, Bao S, Landman BA, Wheless LE, Coburn LA, Wilson KT, Wang Y, Zhao S, Fogo AB, Yang H, Tang Y, Huo Y. Segment Anything Model (SAM) for Digital Pathology: Assess Zero-shot Segmentation on Whole Slide Imaging. IS&T Int Symp Electron Imaging 37, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40190816.
- Ning X, Zhong Y, Cai Q, Wang Y, Jia X, Hsieh JT, Zheng J, Yu M. Gold Nanoparticle Transport in the Injured Kidneys with Elevated Renal Function Biomarkers. Adv Mater 36(36):e2402479, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39073056.
- Waddell S, Zhao G, Liu Z, Chen H, Zhang W, Wang Y, Miller DD, Yue J, Li W. VERU-111, an Orally Available Tubulin Inhibitor, Suppresses Ovarian Tumor Growth and Metastasis. J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38936977.
- Deng R, Cui C, Remedios LW, Bao S, Womick RM, Chiron S, Li J, Roland JT, Lau KS, Liu Q, Wilson KT, Wang Y, Coburn LA, Landman BA, Huo Y. Cross-scale multi-instance learning for pathological image diagnosis. Med Image Anal 94:103124, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38428271.
- Xiong J, Liu Y, Deng R, Tyree RN, Correa H, Hiremath G, Wang Y, Huo Y. Deep Learning-Based Open Source Toolkit for Eosinophil Detection in Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng 12933, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 40336525.
- Liu Y, Deng R, Xiong J, Tyree RN, Correa H, Hiremath G, Wang Y, Huo Y. Eosinophils Instance Object Segmentation on Whole Slide Imaging Using Multi-label Circle Representation. Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng 12933, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 40336526.
- Bao S, Lee HH, Yang Q, Remedios LW, Deng R, Cui C, Cai LY, Xu K, Yu X, Chiron S, Li Y, Patterson NH, Wang Y, Li J, Liu Q, Lau KS, Roland JT, Coburn LA, Wilson KT, Landman BA, Huo Y. Alleviating tiling effect by random walk sliding window in high-resolution histological whole slide image synthesis. Proc Mach Learn Res 227:1406-1422, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38993526.
- Ricaurte Archila L, Smith L, Sihvo HK, Koponen V, Jenkins SM, O'Sullivan DM, Cardenas Fernandez MC, Wang Y, Sivasubramaniam P, Patil A, Hopson PE, Absah I, Ravi K, Mounajjed T, Dellon ES, Bredenoord AJ, Pai R, Hartley CP, Graham RP, Moreira RK. Performance of an Artificial Intelligence Model for Recognition and Quantitation of Histologic Features of Eosinophilic Esophagitis on Biopsy Samples. Mod Pathol 36(10):100285, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37474003.
- Deng R, Li Y, Li P, Wang J, Remedios LW, Agzamkhodjaev S, Asad Z, Liu Q, Cui C, Wang Y, Wang Y, Tang Y, Yang H, Huo Y. Democratizing Pathological Image Segmentation with Lay Annotators via Molecular-empowered Learning. Med Image Comput Comput Assist Interv 14225:497-507, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38529367.
- Cui C, Wang Y, Bao S, Tang Y, Deng R, Remedios LW, Asad Z, Roland JT, Lau KS, Liu Q, Coburn LA, Wilson KT, Landman BA, Huo Y. Feasibility of Universal Anomaly Detection without Knowing the Abnormality in Medical Images. Med Image Learn Ltd Noisy Data (2023) 14307:82-92, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38523773.
- Cui C, Yang H, Wang Y, Zhao S, Asad Z, Coburn LA, Wilson KT, Landman BA, Huo Y. Deep multimodal fusion of image and non-image data in disease diagnosis and prognosis: a review. Prog Biomed Eng (Bristol) 5(2), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37360402.
- Cui C, Bao S, Li J, Deng R, Remedios LW, Asad Z, Chiron S, Lau KS, Wang Y, Coburn LA, Wilson KT, Roland JT, Landman BA, Liu Q, Huo Y. Influence of Cell-type Ratio on Spatially Resolved Single-cell Transcriptomes using the Tangram Algorithm: Based on Implementation on Single-Cell and MxIF Data. Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng 12471, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37324550.
- Vargas EJ, Wang Y, Chen ZE, Abusaleh R, Storm AC, Martin JA, Law RJ, Dayyeh BKA, Levy MJ, Petersen B, Chandrasekhara V. Histological assessment of new cholangioscopy-guided forceps in ERCP biliary stricture sampling: a blinded comparative study. Endosc Int Open 10(9):E1233-E1237, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36118635.
- Deng R, Cui C, Remedios LW, Bao S, Womick RM, Chiron S, Li J, Roland JT, Lau KS, Liu Q, Wilson KT, Wang Y, Coburn LA, Landman BA, Huo Y. Cross-scale Attention Guided Multi-instance Learning for Crohn's Disease Diagnosis with Pathological Images. Multiscale Multimodal Med Imaging (2022) 13594:24-33, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36331283.
- Archila LR, Smith L, Sihvo HK, Westerling-Bui T, Koponen V, O'Sullivan DM, Fernandez MCC, Alexander EE, Wang Y, Sivasubramaniam P, Patil A, Hopson PE, Absah I, Ravi K, Mounajjed T, Pai R, Hagen C, Hartley C, Graham RP, Moreira RK. Development and technical validation of an artificial intelligence model for quantitative analysis of histopathologic features of eosinophilic esophagitis. J Pathol Inform 13:100144, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36268110.
- Guo H, Zhang W, Wang J, Zhao G, Wang Y, Zhu BM, Dong P, Watari H, Wang B, Li W, Tigyi G, Yue J. Cryptotanshinone inhibits ovarian tumor growth and metastasis by degrading c-Myc and attenuating the FAK signaling pathway. Front Cell Dev Biol 10:959518, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36247016.
- Liu X, Zhao G, Huo X, Wang Y, Tigyi G, Zhu BM, Yue J, Zhang W. Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Facilitate Ovarian Tumor Growth and Metastasis by Promoting Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition Through Activating the TGF-beta Pathway. Front Oncol 11:756011, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 35004276.
- Roy S, Esmaeilniakooshkghazi A, Patnaik S, Wang Y, George SP, Ahrorov A, Hou JK, Herron AJ, Sesaki H, Khurana S. Villin-1 and Gelsolin Regulate Changes in Actin Dynamics That Affect Cell Survival Signaling Pathways and Intestinal Inflammation. Gastroenterology 154(5):1405-1420.e2, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29274870.
- Wang Y, George SP, Roy S, Pham E, Esmaeilniakooshkghazi A, Khurana S. Both the anti- and pro-apoptotic functions of villin regulate cell turnover and intestinal homeostasis. Sci Rep 6:35491, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27765954.
- Lee SC, Fujiwara Y, Liu J, Yue J, Shimizu Y, Norman DD, Wang Y, Tsukahara R, Szabo E, Patil R, Banerjee S, Miller DD, Balazs L, Ghosh MC, Waters CM, Oravecz T, Tigyi GJ. Autotaxin and LPA1 and LPA5 receptors exert disparate functions in tumor cells versus the host tissue microenvironment in melanoma invasion and metastasis. Mol Cancer Res 13(1):174-85, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25158955.
- Wang Y, Sigurdsson JK, Brandt E, Atzberger PJ. Dynamic implicit-solvent coarse-grained models of lipid bilayer membranes: fluctuating hydrodynamics thermostat. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys 88(2):023301, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24032960.
- Wang Y, George S, Srinivasan K, Patnaik S, Khurana S. Actin reorganization as the molecular basis for the regulation of apoptosis in gastrointestinal epithelial cells. Cell Death Differ 19(9):1514-24, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22421965.
- Gupte R, Patil R, Liu J, Wang Y, Lee SC, Fujiwara Y, Fells J, Bolen AL, Emmons-Thompson K, Yates CR, Siddam A, Panupinthu N, Pham TC, Baker DL, Parrill AL, Mills GB, Tigyi G, Miller DD. Benzyl and naphthalene methylphosphonic acid inhibitors of autotaxin with anti-invasive and anti-metastatic activity. ChemMedChem 6(5):922-35, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21465666.
- Mathew S, George SP, Wang Y, Siddiqui MR, Srinivasan K, Tan L, Khurana S. Potential molecular mechanism for c-Src kinase-mediated regulation of intestinal cell migration. J Biol Chem 283(33):22709-22, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18482983.
- Wang Y, Srinivasan K, Siddiqui MR, George SP, Tomar A, Khurana S. A novel role for villin in intestinal epithelial cell survival and homeostasis. J Biol Chem 283(14):9454-64, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18198174.
- Khurana S, Tomar A, George SP, Wang Y, Siddiqui MR, Guo H, Tigyi G, Mathew S. Autotaxin and lysophosphatidic acid stimulate intestinal cell motility by redistribution of the actin modifying protein villin to the developing lamellipodia. Exp Cell Res 314(3):530-42, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18054784.
- George SP, Wang Y, Mathew S, Srinivasan K, Khurana S. Dimerization and actin-bundling properties of villin and its role in the assembly of epithelial cell brush borders. J Biol Chem 282(36):26528-41, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17606613.
- Wang Y, Tomar A, George SP, Khurana S. Obligatory role for phospholipase C-gamma(1) in villin-induced epithelial cell migration. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 292(5):C1775-86, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17229814.
- Tomar A, George S, Kansal P, Wang Y, Khurana S. Interaction of phospholipase C-gamma1 with villin regulates epithelial cell migration. J Biol Chem 281(42):31972-86, 2006. e-Pub 2006. PMID: 16921170.
- Tomar A, Wang Y, Kumar N, George S, Ceacareanu B, Hassid A, Chapman KE, Aryal AM, Waters CM, Khurana S. Regulation of cell motility by tyrosine phosphorylated villin. Mol Biol Cell 15(11):4807-17, 2004. e-Pub 2004. PMID: 15342783.
Other Articles
- Chen H, Wang Y, Wang W, Cao T, Zhang L, Wang Z, Chi X, Shi T, Wang H, He X, Liang M, Yang M, Jiang W, Lv D, Yu J, Zhu G, Xie Y, Gao B, Wang X, Liu X, Li Y, Ouyang L, Zhang J, Liu H, Li Z, Tong Y, Xia X, Tan GY, Zhang L Author Correction: High-yield porphyrin production through metabolic engineering and biocatalysis. Nat Biotechnol, 2024. PMID: 38956328.
- Smith C, Zheng W, Dong J, Wang Y, Lai J, Liu X, Yin F Tumor microenvironment in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: Implications in immunotherapy. World J Gastroenterol 28(27):3297-3313, 2022. PMID: 36158269.
- Agarwal S, Wang Y, Iyer PG, Leggett CL Incidental Colonic Ganglioneuroma on Surveillance Colonoscopy. ACG Case Rep J 9(1):e00727, 2022. PMID: 35036457.
- Habash N, Wang Y, Morava E, Ibrahim SH An Adolescent with Chanarin-Dorfman Syndrome Presenting with Ichthyosis and Hepatic Steatosis. JPGN Rep 2(4):e137, 2021. PMID: 37206464.
- Tsuang FY, Chen JY, Wang YH, Lai DM Neurological picture. Occipitocervical malformation with atlas duplication. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 82(10):1101-2, 2011. PMID: 21828222.
Abstracts
- Bao S, Lee HH, Yang Q, Remedios LW, Deng R, Cui C, Cai LY, Xu K, Yu X, Chiron S, Li Y, Patterson NH, Wang Y, Li J, Liu Q, Lau KS, Roland JT, Coburn LA, Wilson KT, Landman BA, Huo Y. Alleviating tiling effect by random walk sliding window in high-resolution histological whole slide image synthesis. MIDL 2023 227:1406-1422, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38993526.
- Cui C, Liu H, Liu Q, Deng R, Asad Z, Wang Y, Zhao S, Yang H, Landman BA, Huo Y. Survival Prediction of Brain Cancer with Incomplete Radiology, Pathology, Genomic, and Demographic Data. Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention:626-635, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Wang Y, Yin J, Bainter T, Mounajjed T, Torbenson M, Yasir S, Lin F, Chen E, Zongming. Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) Protein Immunostain Helps Classify Small Duct Type Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma and Indicates a Good Prognosis. 111st USCAP Annual Meeting 102(SUPPL 1):1160-1161, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Vargas EJ, Wang Y, Chen ZM, Abusaleh R, Martin JA, Storm AC, Law R, Dayyeh BK, Petersen BT, Chandrasekhara V. Comparison of a new cholangioscopy-guided forceps versus standard forceps in patients undergoing ERCP stricture biliary sampling. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. 2021 Digestive Disease Week 93(6):AB140-AB141, 2021. e-Pub 2021.
- Li Y, Wang Y, Shuyu E, Yadak N, Jain R, Clark I, Amin M, Fan M. Immunosuppressive Function of CD14-Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Is Promoted by Tumor-Derived IFNB1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. 109th USCAP Annual Meeting 100, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Wang Y, Li Y, Shuyu E, Lanjewar S, Zhang J, Clark I, Bradley R, Khan F, Gradowski J, Robins D, McGregor D, Yue J, Amin M. Protein tyrosine kinase 2 (PTK2) overexpression in ovarian carcinoma is associated with poor prognosis and distant metastasis. 109th USCAP Annual Meeting 100(SUPPL 1):1154-1154, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Wang Y, Li Y, Shuyu E, Zhang J, King L, Khan F, Yadak N, Jain R, Clark I, Boom A, Gradowski J, Amin M. Straightening Signet Rings via Convoluted Networks. 109th USCAP Annual Meeting 100(SUPPL 1):798-799, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Wang Y, Zhao G, Li Y, Shuyu E, Gandhi J, Abdallah A, Abel J, Saad A, Zhang J, Clark I, David R, Yue J, Amin M. Metal Regulatory Transcription Factor 1 (MTF1): Essential Role in Ovarian Cancer Metastasis and A Poor Clinical Prognostic Molecular Marker. 108th USCAP Annual Meeting 99, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Li Y, Gandhi J, Cheng J, Wang Y, E, Shuyu, Abel J, Kaminsky J, Abdallah A, Saad A, Amin M, Clark I. Molecular Characteristics of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Epigenetic Activation of the 9p21. 3 Locus. 108th USACP Annual Meeting 99, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Wang Y, Roy S, Sudeep G, Patnaik S, Esmaeilniakooshkghazi A, Ahrorov A, Khurana S. Actin Dynamics Arrest by Loss of Villin and Gelsolin Perturb Intestinal Epithelium Mitochondria Homeostasis. 107th USCAP Annual Meeting 98:308-309, 2018. e-Pub 2018.
- Wang Y, George SP, Khurana S. Cleaved NH2-Terminal Villin Fragment Regulates Intestinal Cell Extrusion in the Villus Tip. 106th USCAP Annual Meeting 97:463a, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2023. IBD and IBD Mimickers During Cancer Treatment Regimen. Invited. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2023. Medical Liver Pathology. Invited. Nashville, TN, US.
- 2022. Pathology of the Pancreas. Invited. Nashville, TN, US.
- 2022. Medical Liver Pathology. Invited. Nashville, TN, US.
- 2021. Normal Liver/Pancreas. Invited. Nashville, TN, US.
- 2021. GI-Normal Histology. Invited. Nashville, TN, US.
- 2021. Neoplastic Liver Pathology. Invited. Nashville, TN, US.
- 2020. Update in Steatohepatitis. Invited. Rochester, MN, US.
- 2020. GI Polyps in biopsy. Invited. Rochester, MN, US.
- 2020. Gastric Pathology. Invited. Rochester, MN, US.
- 2019. Update in NIFTP. Invited. Memphis, TN, US.
- 2019. Pathology of pancreas cystic lesion. Invited. Memphis, TN, US.
- 2018. Gastrointestinal infectious disease. Invited. Memphis, TN, US.
- 2018. Digital pathology: future perspective. Invited. Memphis, TN, US.
- 2017. Update in HLH. Invited. Memphis, TN, US.
- 2016. Red blood cell disorder. Invited. Memphis, TN, US.
Regional Presentations
- 2023. IBD: from basic science research to clinical practice. Invited, US.
- 2023. Pathologic Mimics of Inflammatory Bowel Disease”. Invited, US.
- 2021. Villin, an old GI epithelial marker and it’s new role in IBD. Invited, US.
International Presentations
- 2023. Liver Transplant Pathology. Invited, CN.
- 2023. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Induced Gastrointestinal and Liver Injury. Invited, CN.
- 2023. Use of Artificial Intelligence in IBD Translational Research. Invited, CN.
- 2023. Villin, Actin Cytoskeleton and beyond. Invited, CN.
- 2018. Actin Dynamics Arrest by Loss of Villin and Gelsolin Perturb Intestine Epithelium Mitochondria Homeostasis. Poster. USCAP 107th Annual Meeting Abstracts: Geared to Learn. Vancouver, CA.
- 2017. Cleaved NH2-Terminal Villin Fragment Regulates Intestinal Cell Extrusion in the Villus Tip. Poster. USCAP 106th Annual Meeting Abstracts. San Antonio, US.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified June 18, 2025