Available to mentor
Sunny Wong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Dermatology with a secondary appointment in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology (CDB). He is a member of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, U-M Center for Cell Plasticity and Organ Design and U-M Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-based Center (SBDRC).
Dr. Wong directs NIH-funded basic science research exploring novel and fundamental insights related to skin and hair follicle biology, epithelial stem cells and cancer. The Wong lab is studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control the initiation and progression of basal cell carcinoma and with focus on the biology of the upper hair follicle and the sebaceous gland.
Dr. Wong is Associate Director of the Training program in Cell and Molecular Dermatology (NIH T32) in Department of Dermatology and served as organizing director of the SBDRC Visiting Speaker Series (2019-2024). In CDB, he has served on both the Graduate and Admissions Committees. At the national level, Dr. Wong is a member of the Society of Investigative Dermatology (SID) Education Committee and has served as session moderator for concurrent mini-symposia at several SID annual meetings. In addition, Dr. Wong is a member of the editorial board for Experimental Dermatology and is a consulting editor for JCI Insight. He has participated in multiple NIH study sections and has supplied grants review for the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Wong joined the University of Michigan in December 2011 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. He conducted his graduate research in the lab of Richard Hynes at MIT and received his Ph.D. in 2007. Subsequently, he trained with Jeremy Reiter as an American Cancer Society / A.P. Giannini postdoctoral fellow at the University of California San Francisco.
Wong Lab Homepage
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Postdoctoral FellowUniversity of California, San Francisco, Biochemistry, 2011
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PhDMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 2007
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BACornell University, Ithaca, 2000
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Center MemberRogel Cancer Center
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Center MemberCenter for Cell Plasticity and Organ Design
The Wong lab studies how stem cells in the skin and hair follicle coordinate their behaviors to maintain barrier function, regenerate hair and heal wounds. These studies have important implications for patients who suffer from alopecia, acne, seborrheic dermatitis and ichthyosis. In addition, Dr. Wong's group has a long-standing interest in understanding the genetic factors that drive the formation of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common cancer worldwide. As a member of both the Departments of Dermatology and Cell and Developmental Biology, Dr. Wong combine basic science and translational research to uncover novel insights into cutaneous biology.
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Veniaminova NA, Jia YY, Hartigan AM, Huyge TJ, Tsai S-Y, Grachtchouk M, Nakagawa S, Dlugosz AA, Atwood SX, Wong SY. Cell Rep, 2023 Sep 26; 42 (9): 113121Journal ArticleDistinct mechanisms for sebaceous gland self-renewal and regeneration provide durability in response to injury.
DOI:10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113121 PMID: 37715952 -
Zouboulis CC, Coenye T, He L, Kabashima K, Kobayashi T, Niemann C, Nomura T, Oláh A, Picardo M, Quist SR, Sasano H, Schneider MR, Törőcsik D, Wong SY. Front Immunol, 2022 13: 1029818Journal ArticleSebaceous immunobiology - skin homeostasis, pathophysiology, coordination of innate immunity and inflammatory response and disease associations.
DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2022.1029818 PMID: 36439142 -
Trieu KG, Tsai S-Y, Eberl M, Ju V, Ford NC, Doane OJ, Peterson JK, Veniaminova NA, Grachtchouk M, Harms PW, Swartling FJ, Dlugosz AA, Wong SY. Cell Rep, 2022 May 3; 39 (5): 110779Journal ArticleBasal cell carcinomas acquire secondary mutations to overcome dormancy and progress from microscopic to macroscopic disease.
DOI:10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110779 PMID: 35508126 -
Veniaminova NA, Grachtchouk M, Doane OJ, Peterson JK, Quigley DA, Lull MV, Pyrozhenko DV, Nair RR, Patrick MT, Balmain A, Dlugosz AA, Tsoi LC, Wong SY. Dev Cell, 2019 Nov 4; 51 (3): 326 - 340.e4.Journal ArticleNiche-Specific Factors Dynamically Regulate Sebaceous Gland Stem Cells in the Skin.
DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2019.08.015 PMID: 31564613 -
Eberl M, Mangelberger D, Swanson JB, Verhaegen ME, Harms PW, Frohm ML, Dlugosz AA, Wong SY. Cancer Cell, 2018 Feb 12; 33 (2): 229 - 243.e4.Journal ArticleTumor Architecture and Notch Signaling Modulate Drug Response in Basal Cell Carcinoma.
DOI:10.1016/j.ccell.2017.12.015 PMID: 29395868 -
Mesler AL, Veniaminova NA, Lull MV, Wong SY. Cell Rep, 2017 Apr 25; 19 (4): 809 - 821.Journal ArticleHair Follicle Terminal Differentiation Is Orchestrated by Distinct Early and Late Matrix Progenitors.
DOI:10.1016/j.celrep.2017.03.077 PMID: 28445731 -
Peterson SC, Eberl M, Vagnozzi AN, Belkadi A, Veniaminova NA, Verhaegen ME, Bichakjian CK, Ward NL, Dlugosz AA, Wong SY. Cell Stem Cell, 2015 Apr 2; 16 (4): 400 - 412.Journal ArticleBasal cell carcinoma preferentially arises from stem cells within hair follicle and mechanosensory niches.
DOI:10.1016/j.stem.2015.02.006 PMID: 25842978 -
Veniaminova NA, Vagnozzi AN, Kopinke D, Do TT, Murtaugh LC, Maillard I, Dlugosz AA, Reiter JF, Wong SY. Development, 2013 Dec; 140 (24): 4870 - 4880.Journal ArticleKeratin 79 identifies a novel population of migratory epithelial cells that initiates hair canal morphogenesis and regeneration.
DOI:10.1242/dev.101725 PMID: 24198274
