Rate My Professor Yuru Wang

Yuru Wang is an Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy. She received her B.S. from Nankai University and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. Wang joined the faculty at the University of Utah in October 2023. Her research centers on epitranscriptomics, specifically the mechanisms of installation, recognition, and functions of RNA modifications such as pseudouridine and inosine. Eukaryotic RNAs undergo diverse chemical modifications, including methylation, deamination, acetylation, and isomerization, which regulate RNA stability, transcription, translation, and cellular processes like immune responses, phase separation, and embryonic cell division. Dysregulation of these modifications is associated with human diseases. The Wang lab develops novel cell-based assays to study modification dynamics in contexts such as innate immune responses and disease states. The group aims to enable precise, site-directed modulation of modifications in disease-related RNAs to fine-tune their properties. Additionally, the lab engineers molecular devices to probe spatial and temporal dynamics of key modifications in living cells. Trainees engage in interdisciplinary work spanning biochemistry, RNA biology, mass spectrometry, protein engineering, and genetics to advance RNA therapeutics and uncover novel drug targets.

In March 2026, Wang was awarded an NIH/NIGMS MIRA R35 grant entitled “Investigating the biological functions, biosynthesis, and dynamic regulation of RNA chemical modifications,” supporting efforts to identify therapeutic targets and develop RNA-based therapies. She is corresponding author on the 2026 Nature Communications publication "Enzyme-mediated alkynylation enables transcriptome-wide profiling of pseudouridine in living cells." Wang contributes to the University of Utah Bioscience PhD Programs in Molecular Biology and Biological Chemistry and has presented seminars, including at the Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute.