About
I am a neurobiologist and cancer immunologist in the MCDB Department, where teaching is my primary focus. In parallel, I maintain active research involvement as a co-Principal Investigator in Duan-Lab. My work focuses on neuro-immune interactions and the molecular mechanisms of cell death, and I am committed to mentoring students in both research and scholarly development.
Selected Publications:
Su XY, Ronan EA, Perry SK, Lee H, Hor CC, Fatima M, Zheng XY, Wang J, Liu S, Koecklin KHU, Wan S, Jha A, Li P, Du W, Cai D, Emrick JJ, Duan B. A touch-guided neural circuit regulates motivated gnawing to maintain dental alignment. Neuron. 2026 Jun 3; 114(11):2020-2033.
Hu M, Li P, Wang C, Feng X, Geng Q, Chen W, Marthi M, Zhang W, Gao C, Reid W, Swanson J, Du W, Hume RI, Xu H. Parkinson's disease-risk protein TMEM175 is a proton-activated proton channel in lysosomes. Cell. 2022 Jun 23;185(13):2292-2308.
Gu M, Hu M, Minckley T, Pinchi P, Xu H, Qin Y, Du W#. A protocol to measure lysosomal Zn2+ release through a genetically encoded Zn2+ indicator. STAR Protoc. 2022 Jun 10;3(2):101453.
Du W#, Gu M, Hu M, Pinchi P, Chen W, Ryan M, Nold T, Bannaga A, Xu H. Lysosomal Zn2+ release triggers mitochondria-mediated, non-apoptotic cell death in metastatic melanoma. Cell Rep. 2021 Oct 19;37(3):109848.
Du W, Seah I, Bougazzoul O, Choi G, Meeth K, Bosenberg MW, Wakimoto H, Fisher D, Shah K. Stem cell-released oncolytic herpes simplex virus has therapeutic efficacy in brain metastatic melanomas. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jul 25;114(30):E6157-E6165.
Du W, Huang J, Yao H, Zhou K, Duan B, Wang Y. Inhibition of TRPC6 degradation suppresses ischemic brain damage in rats. J Clin Invest. 2010 Oct;120(10):3480-92.
Tai Y, Feng S, Ge R, Du W, Zhang X, He Z, Wang Y. TRPC6 channels promote dendritic growth via the CaMKIV-CREB pathway. J Cell Sci. 2008 Jul 15;121(Pt 14):2301-7.
Zhou J*, Du W*, Zhou K, Tai Y, Yao H, Jia Y, Ding Y, Wang Y. Critical role of TRPC6 channels in the formation of excitatory synapses. Nat Neurosci. 2008 Jul;11(7):741-3.
* Co-equal contribution; # Corresponding author.
A full list of publications is in MyBibliography:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/wanlu.du.2/bibliography/public/
