Shivashankar Group

WANG Yejun

Alumni, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore

mbiwye@nus.edu.sg
Level 10 T-Lab
National University of Singapore
5A Engineering Drive 1
Singapore 117411

What are nucleosomes?

What are nucleosomes? In order to fit DNA into the nucleus, it must be packaged into a highly compacted structure known as chromatin. In the first step of this process DNA is condensed into [...]

By Management|Nov 30th, 2023|Categories: Genome Regulation, MBInfo|Comments Off on What are nucleosomes?

What are chromatin, heterochromatin and euchromatin?

What is chromatin, heterochromatin and euchromatin? The human genome contains over 3 billion base pairs or nucleotides. These nucleotides, which are arranged in a linear sequence along DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), encode every protein and [...]

By Management|Nov 30th, 2023|Categories: Genome Regulation, MBInfo|Comments Off on What are chromatin, heterochromatin and euchromatin?

How is nuclear “prestress” maintained?

How is nuclear “prestress” maintained? As an integral part of cellular behavior, cells are sensitive to matrix rigidity, local geometry and stress or strain applied by external factors [1]. In recent years, it has [...]

By Management|Nov 30th, 2023|Categories: Genome Regulation, MBInfo|Comments Off on How is nuclear “prestress” maintained?

How is DNA replicated?

How is DNA replicated? Cells must replicate their DNA before they can divide. This ensures that each daughter cell gets a copy of the genome, and therefore, successful inheritance of genetic traits. DNA replication [...]

By Management|Nov 30th, 2023|Categories: Genome Regulation, MBInfo|Comments Off on How is DNA replicated?

How is transcription regulated in stem cells?

How is transcription regulated in stem cells? Pluripotent stem cells can potentially differentiate into any given cell type. They commonly exhibit mechanically softer nuclei [1], lack type-A lamins [2] and have a poorly defined [...]

By Management|Nov 30th, 2023|Categories: Genome Regulation, MBInfo|Comments Off on How is transcription regulated in stem cells?

How does chromatin remodeling impact gene transcription?

How does chromatin remodeling impact gene transcription? While chromosome territory dynamics is believed to regulate gene expression through the redistribution of genes and the subsequent co-localization of these genes with transcription machinery, changes are [...]

By Management|Nov 30th, 2023|Categories: Genome Regulation, MBInfo|Comments Off on How does chromatin remodeling impact gene transcription?

Wang Yejun

Alumni

Principal Investigator

GV Shivashankar

Research Interests

Molecular Mechanisms of Mechanobiology

I decided to switch into the world of biology after I received my BS in chemistry from Zhejiang University. With the interest in things happening inside nucleus, I joined Prof. Shiva’s lab as a graduate student, to study the role of external mechanical signals on gene regulation in eukaryotic cells. During my first one and a half years I developed a method to visualize active transcription sites on open chromatin spreads using super-resolution microscopy. Presently I’m studying the role of cell geometric constraints on 3D organization of chromosomes by using multiple techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), confocal imaging, and super-resolution imaging.

Recent Publications

  1. Wang Y, Li X, Xia R, Wan Y, Lu J, Zhao Z, Zhang W, Wang Q, Saunders TE, and Yin J. Hedgehog-driven adaxial cell constriction patterns slow muscle fate and somite boundary remodeling in the presomitic mesoderm. Cell Rep 2026; 45(5):117319. [PMID: 42065961]
  2. Yang J, Guan Z, Zeng D, Qin Y, Zhao C, Wang S, Wu Q, Wang Q, Li H, Wu J, Huang H, Wang Y, Wu E, Thalmann NM, Lim CT, Wong TY, Jia W, Li H, Fregni F, and Sheng B. Extended reality in clinical neurology: From interdisciplinary innovations to clinical practice. Cell Rep Med 2026;:102696. [PMID: 41903546]
  3. Yang B, Li B, Zhu Y, Zhao M, Cheng Y, Zhao X, En-Jie DT, Wang Y, Zhang M, Tang X, Jin S, Sun Y, Zhang X, Xue B, Yan J, Wu G, Lin Z, Luo M, Yu H, Zhang L, Chen X, and Ni Q. Rational design of rigid mRNA folding architecture to enhance intracellular processing and protein production. Nat Nanotechnol 2026;. [PMID: 41772191]
  4. Liu X, Liu J, Wang Y, Yao M, Baker KB, Klapholz B, Brown NH, Goult BT, and Yan J. The mechanical response of vinculin. Sci Adv 2025; 11(44):eady6949. [PMID: 41171905]
  5. Wang Y, Zhang Y, Yu M, Xiu P, Jia Y, Chen H, Le S, Qian J, and Yan J. Salt-bridge mediated cooperativity and mechanical stabilization of tandem spectrin repeats. Nanoscale Horiz 2025;. [PMID: 40492359]
  6. Wang W, Huang Z, Wang Y, Li H, and Kanchanawong P. Vortex Interference Enables Optimal 3D Interferometric Nanoscopy. Phys Rev Lett 2025; 134(7):073802. [PMID: 40053988]
  7. Wang Y, Wang Y, Zhu Y, Yu P, Zhou F, Zhang A, Gu Y, Jin R, Li J, Zheng F, Yu A, Ye D, Xu Y, Liu Y, Saw TB, Hu G, Lim CT, and Yu F. Angiomotin cleavage promotes leader formation and collective cell migration. Dev Cell 2024;. [PMID: 39389053]
  8. Zhang Y, Du J, Liu X, Shang F, Deng Y, Ye J, Wang Y, Yan J, Chen H, Yu M, and Le S. Multi-domain interaction mediated strength-building in human α-actinin dimers unveiled by direct single-molecule quantification. Nat Commun 2024; 15(1):6151. [PMID: 39034324]
  9. Morales-Camilo N, Liu J, Ramírez MJ, Canales-Salgado P, Alegría JJ, Liu X, Ong HT, Barrera NP, Fierro A, Toyama Y, Goult BT, Wang Y, Meng Y, Nishimura R, Fong-Ngern K, Low CSL, Kanchanawong P, Yan J, Ravasio A, and Bertocchi C. Alternative molecular mechanisms for force transmission at adherens junctions via β-catenin-vinculin interaction. Nat Commun 2024; 15(1):5608. [PMID: 38969637]
  10. Zhang X, Ruan L, Wang H, Zhu J, Li T, Sun G, Dong Y, Wang Y, Berreby G, Shay A, Chen R, Ramachandran S, Dawson VL, Dawson TM, and Li R. Enhancing mitochondrial proteolysis alleviates alpha-synuclein-mediated cellular toxicity. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2024; 10(1):120. [PMID: 38906862]
By Management|2018-03-05T16:22:36+08:00Mar 23rd, 2017|Categories: Alumni|Comments Off on Wang Yejun

About the National University of Singapore

About NUSA leading global university centred in Asia, NUS is Singapore's flagship university, offering a global approach to education and research with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise.

About the Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore

About MBIOne of four Research Centres of Excellence at NUS, MBI is working to identify, measure and describe how the forces for motility and morphogenesis are expressed at the molecular, cellular and tissue level.
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