Jane Ying Wu (Chinese: 吴瑛; 1963 – July 10, 2024) was a Chinese American neuroscientist who was the Charles Louis Mix Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Jane Ying Wu | |
|---|---|
吴瑛 | |
 | |
| Born | 1963 |
| Died | July 10, 2024 |
| Alma mater | Shanghai Medical University Stanford University |
| Spouse | Rao Yi |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neurology |
| Institutions | Washington University in St. Louis Northwestern University |
| Doctoral advisor | William S. Robinson |
Life
editBorn in 1963 in Hefei, Anhui province.[1] She lived with her grandmother while her parents were in a labor camp.[2] Wu completed her studies at Shanghai Medical University in 1986.[1] She earned a Ph.D. in cancer biology from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1991.[1] Her dissertation was titled, Molecular Studies of Hepatitis B Virus.[2] William S. Robinson was Wu's doctoral advisor.[2] She dedicated her dissertation to the martyrs of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.[2] Wu then conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University.[1]
Wu spent ten years at Washington University in St. Louis, where she served as an assistant and associate professor in pediatrics, molecular biology, and pharmacology.[1] In 2005, she joined Northwestern University where her research concentrated on two closely related biological processes, RNA splicing and the role of regulatory RNA-binding proteins.[1] She led a neurology and genetics laboratory at the Feinberg School of Medicine.[1] By 2007, she was the Charles Louis Mix Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.[3] The same year, she was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation.[3] In 2009, Wu was invited by the Chinese government to join the Thousand Talents Plan.[1] She was managed a laboratory and mentored students at the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.[1]
Research
editHer research interests centered on post-transcriptional gene regulation and its involvement in human diseases.[3] She focused on pre-mRNA splicing, a crucial process in eukaryotic gene expression that played a significant role in genetic diversity.[3] Defects in pre-mRNA splicing were linked to the development of numerous human disorders.[3] Wu's research team investigated the mechanisms that regulated pre-mRNA splicing and alternative splicing in genes essential for cell death and neuronal function.[3] They specifically examined how splicing defects contributed to neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia and retinal degeneration.[3] Additionally, Wu explored the fundamental processes involved in tumor development and metastasis.[3] Her discovery of how a neuronal migration signal modulated chemokine activity provided new insights into chemokine regulation, uncovering a conserved mechanism that controlled cell migration across various cell types.[3] Her lab also studied the role of neuronal guidance cues in tumor metastasis and developed new approaches to address inflammatory diseases.[3]
Personal life
editWu met her husband, neurobiologist Rao Yi while attending Shanghai Medical University.[4][2] She died by suicide on July 10, 2024.[1][5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Xin, Ling (2024-08-31). "Exclusive | China-born neuroscientist Jane Wu lost her US lab. Then she lost her life". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
- ^ a b c d e Wu, Jane Ying (1991). Molecular Studies of Hepatitis B Virus (Ph.D. thesis). Stanford University. OCLC 79699485.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Home". The American Society for Clinical Investigation. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
- ^ Madish, Caroline (2024-07-31). "Jane Wu Northwestern Death, Professor Rao Yi's ex-wife and Northwestern University Professor Dr. Jane Ying Wu died by suicide - earlymemorialobits.com". Retrieved 2024-09-04.
- ^ "Chinese American neuroscientist dies after losing lab". Yahoo News. 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-09-06.