People – Wang Lab

Dr. Adrienne Wang
Principal Investigator

Dr. Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Western Washington University. Her current research interests are reflective of the training she has received throughout her career, starting with her time as an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, where she first worked with fruit flies on the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project. After graduating with a BA in Molecular and Cellular Biology with an emphasis in Neurobiology, she took significant time exploring possible career options before returning to graduate school in the Neuroscience program at the University of Michigan. During this time, she worked as a technician at the University of California, San Francisco, the Buck Institute for Age Research, and as an application specialist at a small biotech company in the bay area. Ultimately, she decided to return to school and got her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at UM where she worked in the lab of Dr. Andrew Lieberman to understand the role of molecular chaperones in the pathogenesis of Spinal Bulbar Muscular Atrophy, a polyglutamine repeat disease. After completing her Ph.D., Dr. Wang returned to the Pacific Northwest, where she grew up to pursue her post-doctoral studies at the University of Washington in the labs of Drs. Matt Kaeberlein and Daniel Promislow. At the University of Washington, Dr. Wang used the fruit fly to understand how TOR inhibition extends lifespan in mitochondrial disease, and after receiving a pilot grant from the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, began a screen looking for naturally occurring modifiers of Aβ42- and Tau-induced degeneration. Her work at Western Washington University extends these findings, where her lab studies the effects of rapamycin in disparate models of mitochondrial disease and how mitochondrial health affects immune function and susceptibility to AD.

Marieke Trabant
Undergraduate Researcher

Marieke (she/her) is in her first year at Western Washington University. She is originally from Seattle, WA, and is interested in pursuing a Biology degree. She is enthusiastic about conducting research and eager to explore the entire field of biology. She has a particular interest in microbiology and immunology. Outside work and school, she likes to grow mushrooms, snowboard, and paint.

Marcus Baloutine
Research Assistant

Marcus (they/he) is a fourth-year behavioral neuroscience student with minors in chemistry and Latin who hails from the distant and mystical land of Texas. After graduation, Marcus plans to pursue medical school, ideally going into the field of pathology. In their free time, Marcus enjoys tabletop games, digital art, and brewing coffee.