Hongli (Catherine) Wu, PhD

Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Scienceswu

Education & Experience:

I received a BS and MS in Pharmacy from Xinjiang Medical University in Xinjiang, China, and a PhD in Pharmacology from Peking University. I completed my postdoctoral training for four and half years with Dr. Marjorie Lou in biochemistry in the Redox Biology Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Teaching Areas & Interests:

During my graduate studies in China, I have been teaching topics in general pharmacology, cardiovascular pharmacology, and physiology in English at both undergraduate and graduate levels. As a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I was selected as a mentor for the NSF Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. I also assisted in research training for undergraduate students, graduate students, and visiting scholars. My teaching efforts at the UNT Health Science Center focus mainly on physiology and pharmacology.

Professional Activities & Awards:

I am a member of numerous professional organizations that includes the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, International Society for Eye Research, Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine, and International Union of Pharmacology. I have served as a reviewer for several scientific journals, including Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, PLOS ONE, Current Eye research, Experimental Eye Research, and British Journal of Pharmacology.

Scholarly Interests:

The central theme of my research is to understand the role of oxidative stress defense agents/enzymes and their functional targets and potential therapies in eye diseases. Of primary interest is the age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common retinal disorder that affects 25 million people worldwide, yet its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. My lab uses gene knockout and transgenic animals and primary retinal cells as models to elucidate how altered redox signaling and disrupted redox homeostasis contribute to the pathogenesis of AMD. My research emphasizes the effects of oxidative damage and its repair on retinal proteins, in particular the thiol (SH)-containing proteins/enzymes. We also investigate natural product-derived antioxidant compounds that may serve as leads for the development of new pharmaceutical products that may eventually treat AMD. I have coauthored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of redox biology.

Link to Dr. Wu’s University Profile