Biography

Paul C. Wang, Ph.D.          Dr. Paul Wang is the Director of the Molecular Imaging Laboratory, a Professor of Radiology.  He started his research career in the early 80’s in MRI at University of Kentucky and Georgetown University. As a trained applied radiation physicist at MIT, Dr. Wang started as a medical physicist at Howard University in 1989. During his tenure at Howard University, he founded the Molecular Imaging Laboratory, which later became the university core facility whose mission is to promote multidisciplinary research using NMR imaging and spectroscopy techniques for basic and biomedical research applications and to provide education and hands-on training for student trainees and researchers.  Dr. Wang has successfully obtained external funding for the acquisition of two MRI machines (a Bruker 7 T and a Bruker 9.4 T machines), an optical imaging instrument (PerkinElmer IVIS), and a PET/SPECT/CT machine (Bruker Albira). He has been the principal investigator of 23 federal- and industry-funded projects, including four multi-year DoD training grants. Under his leadership, the Molecular Imaging Laboratory expanded its mission and became a synergetic research center within not only Howard University but also neighboring research institutions including Children’s National, Georgetown University, USDA, NIST, and several biotech companies.  Aside from directing and supervising the lab’s operation, Dr. Wang is responsible for the coordination of research projects using various imaging modalities in the University Imaging Core. His research interests include NMR imaging and spectroscopy studies of cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases; mechanism of multidrug interactions; optical and molecular imaging; applications of nanotechnology; and nuclear medicine research. His research team has developed nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles for targeted chemotherapy and for improving sensitivity and specificity of disease detection. He has taught medical physics and trained many undergraduate, graduate, and medical students as well as postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty and radiology residents. Dr. Wang was a Visiting Professor at the Chinese National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing. He has been involved in promoting a dialogue between the US and Chinese governments in nanomedicine and nanotoxicity research. Dr. Wang is also a Chair Professor in the College of Science and Engineering, Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan.