Dr. Aijun Wang, Ph.D.

Aijun

Position Title
Principal Investigator
Professor and Vice Chair

  • Department of Surgery
  • Department of Biomedical Engineering
Clinical Lab Building (Research II), Suite 3005
4625 2nd Ave., Research II, Suite 3005, Sacramento CA 95817
Bio

Dr. Aijun Wang is a Chancellor's Fellow Professor of Surgery and of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). He is the Vice Chair for Translational Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the Department of Surgery, Co-Director of the Center for Surgical Bioengineering, and inaugural Dean's Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the UC Davis School of Medicine. He is also a Principal Investigator at the Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine (IPRM) / Shriners Children's Pediatric Research Center, Northern California.

Dr. Wang received his Ph.D. in biology from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, and underwent postdoctoral training at the UC Berkeley Department of Bioengineering and Berkeley Stem Cell Center, with a postdoctoral fellowship from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). He has been a faculty member of UC Davis since 2012. 

Dr. Wang's research focuses on developing tools and technologies that combine molecular, cellular, tissue and biomaterial engineering to promote regeneration and restore function. The Wang Group integrates single cell spatial multi-omics (transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) to study disease mechanisms and developmental process, and engineers and develops stem cell/gene therapy, extracellular vesicles/nanomedicine, and extracellular matrix/biomaterial scaffolds to treat a wide spectrum of congenital conditions and acquired diseases. Dr. Wang specializes in bringing therapeutics from bench to bedside, through innovative discovery, translational and investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies, current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) manufacturing, and ultimately clinical trials in both human and companion animal patients. 

Dr. Wang has been serving as PI on several major grants supported by NIH/NIBIB, NIH/NICHD, NIH/NINDS, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the University of California Center for Accelerated Innovation (UC-CAI), the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program of California (TRDRP), Shriners Hospital for Children and other foundations. Dr. Wang holds more than 20 US and international patents and patent applications, and has published over 180 peer-reviewed papers in top tier journals, such as Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, ACS Nano, Advanced Functional Materials, Bioactive Materials, Biomaterials, Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, Stem Cells, Stem Cells Translational Medicine, and Theranostics. Dr. Wang has received numerous awards, such as the UC Davis Health Deans’ Fellowship (2018), UC Davis Health Deans’ Team Award for Excellence in Research (2020), UC Davis Chancellor's Fellowship (2020), UC Davis School of Medicine Cultivating Team Science Award (2022), Deloitte QB3 Award for Innovation (2012), the Tony Phillips Research Award (2014) from the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN), the Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award (2016) from the March of Dimes Foundation, the NIH/NHLBI Technology Development Award (2017), the KidneyX: Redesign Dialysis Phase 2 Innovation award (2020) from the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Sacramento Region Innovation Award (2021). Dr. Wang was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows in 2024.

Honors and Awards
  • 2024 The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows
  • 2022 University of California Davis School of Medicine - Cultivating Team Science Award
  • 2021 Sacramento Region Innovation Award
  • 2020 KidneyX: Redesign Dialysis Phase 2 Award- The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
  • 2020 University of California Davis Chancellor’s Fellow
  • 2020 University of California Davis Health Deans’ Team Award for Excellence in Research
  • 2018 University of California Davis School of Medicine Dean’s Fellow in Entrepreneurship
  • 2017 NIH/NHLBI Technology Development Award, University of California Center for Accelerated Innovation (UC-CAI)
  • 2016 The March of Dimes Foundation Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award
  • 2015 Marquis Who’s Who in America 2015 (69th Edition)
  • 2014 The Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Tony Phillips Research Award
  • 2014 Best of ASH (American Society of Hematology), 2014 Annual Meeting
  • 2012 California Institute for Quantitative Bioscience (QB3) Deloitte QB3 Award for Innovation
Courses
  • Quarter at Aggie Square - Biomedical Engineering
  • Surgical Bioengineering (First Year Seminar)
  • Stem Cell Engineering and Genetic Engineering (First Year Seminar)
  • SUR 199 (Surgical Lab Research)
Research Interests & Expertise
  • Stem Cell Biology and Engineering
  • Extracellular Vesicle-Based Theranostics
  • Gene Editing and Lipid Nanoparticles
  • Single Cell Spatial Multi-Omics (Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics)
  • Extracellular Matrix and Biomaterial-Based Medical Device Design and Engineering
  • Tissue Regeneration and Translational Medicine
  • Investigational New Drug (IND) and Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) enabling studies
  • Clinical Trials in Both Human and Companion Animal Patients