Biography
Sunny Wong, PhD, Associate Professor of Dermatology and Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology directs a program of NIH-funded research seeking to discover novel and fundamental insights related to skin and hair follicle biology, epithelial stem cells and cancer. Dr. Wong's research group is keenly interested in how stem cells in the skin and hair follicle coordinate their behaviors to maintain skin 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, his group has established interests in understanding the genetic factors that drive the formation of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common cancer in North America.
Dr. Wong serves as Director of the Visiting Speaker Series for the U-M Skin Biology and Diseases Resource Based Center, which supplies diverse perspectives from early career and established researchers engaged in skin-related science. He helps organizes this annual lecture series to promote innovative thinking and new ideas, and foster interaction among Center members and attendees.
Sunny Wong joined the University of Michigan in 2011 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology, with joint appointment in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. He conducted his graduate research in the lab of Richard Hynes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 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.
Credentials
- Bachelor of Arts (BA), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1996-2000
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), mentor: Richard Hynes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2000-2007
- Postdoctoral Fellow, mentor: Jeremy Reiter, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 2007-2011