Zijun Wang

Zijun Wang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy. She holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Peking University and completed postdoctoral training at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her research focuses on neuropharmacology, epigenetics, and brain disorders such as drug addiction and autism.

• University of Kansas
• School of Pharmacy
• Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
• Email: zjwang@ku.edu

Her work explores how environmental factors like stress and drug exposure alter brain reward pathways, leading to disease states. Using multidisciplinary approaches—including behavioral studies, molecular biology, and in vivo calcium imaging—she investigates epigenetic mechanisms and neural circuits in disorders like opioid addiction and autism. A central theme is identifying novel therapeutic targets through interventions in histone modification, DNA repair, and synaptic function.

Recent publications highlight neuroadaptations in prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens, sex-specific effects of social isolation, and the role of growth factors like IGF-1 in addiction vulnerability. Her studies frequently employ mouse models of autism and cocaine/opiate addiction to link molecular changes to behavioral outcomes.

She leads the Wang Lab, focusing on translational neuroscience and pharmacotherapies for brain disorders. Collaborations span institutions like SUNY Buffalo and Peking University, with techniques such as chemogenetics and transgenic mice to dissect pathophysiological mechanisms.