LiRong Wang

Assistant Professor

Dr. LiRong Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the School of Pharmacy. His research primarily focuses on developing and applying machine and deep learning algorithms for outcome-related research using electronic medical records (EMRs), as well as advancing chemogenomics and cheminformatics algorithms, and developing online tools. He is the author or co-author of more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and has designed multiple computational tools, including DeepBiomarker, TargetHunter, BBB Predictor, and HTDocking.

Dr. Wang currently serves as a Multiple Principal Investigator (MPI) on the NIH R01 grant MH116046. Additionally, he serves or has served as a co-investigator and key personnel on several NIH-funded projects, including P30 DA035778A, R01 NLM015417, R01 DA025612, the NIGM P50 UPCMLD project, and the NCI UP-CDC project. He also served as the Principal Investigator on a Pharmaceuticals for Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders Alliance (PASA)–funded project that examined pharmacotherapies for alcohol and substance use disorders (ASUD), particularly among patients with PTSD. This pivotal work provided strong evidence supporting the initiation of a clinical trial evaluating suvorexant for comorbid PTSD and alcohol use disorder (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06679062). Together, these projects have profoundly strengthened his expertise in computational research and in leading interdisciplinary scientific teams.

Beyond his university appointments, Dr. Wang serves as a Research Health Specialist (WOC) at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. He acts as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous publications, including the AAPS Journal, JCIM, Bioinformatics, JMC, the Journal of Cheminformatics, the Journal of Personalized Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Medicine, and Molecules, among others. Furthermore, Dr. Wang is an Associate Editor for the Medicine and Public Health specialty sections of Frontiers in Big Data and Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence.

Education & Training

Dr. Wang obtained his PhD degree from University of Science and Technology of China.

Research Interests

Deep/machine learning, electronic medical records analysis, clinical trial emulation, target identification, chemogenomics/cheminformatics/bioinformatics database, signaling pathway, clinical data mining on mental disorders like substance abuse disorder, Alzheimer's Disease, TBI, PTSD, suicide and psychosis.

Recent Publications
  1. Chen Jiang, Josh Krivinko, Zeshui Yu, Robert A. Sweet, Lang Zeng, Hui Wang, Ying Ding, Zheng Zeng, Julia Kofler, Lirong Wang#, “Comparative Mortality Risk of Aripiprazole, Olanzapine, Quetiapine and Risperidone in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Real-World Retrospective Cohort Study with Treatment Effect Heterogeneity Analysis”, CNS Drugs 2026(accepted)
  2. Hongyi Zou, Chen Jiang, Xiguang Qi, Oshin Miranda, Tianyi Xie, Anita P. Courcoulas, LiRong Wang# “Insights from Deep Learning Models on New-Onset Anxiety in Patients Following Bariatric Metabolic Surgery” Journal of Affective Disorders Reports 2026 (accepted)
  3. Daniel S Lee, Mayra S Haedo-Cruz, Chen Jiang, Oshin Miranda, LiRong Wang#, “BiPETE: Bi-Positional Embedding Transformer Encoder for Risk Assessment of Alcohol and Substance Use Disorder with Electronic Health Records” Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine Update 2026 (under review)
  4. Zeshui Yu, Yuqing Chen, Manling Zhang, Ning Feng, LiRong Wang, Yu Chen, Flora Sam, “Risk of Group 2 Pulmonary Hypertension in Newly Diagnosed Heart Failure: An EHR-Based Cohort Analysis”, 2026(under review)
  5. Linjie Jin, Xiguang Qi, Jianwei Liu, William Wright, Terra Schall, King-Lun Li, Bo Zeng, Charles Wang, LiRong Wang, and Yan Dong “Refinement of Nucleus Accumbens Neuronal Dynamics During Cocaine Self-Administration Training" Journal of Neuroscience 2026 (under revision)
  6. Yu, Z. , Chen, Y., Miranda, O. , Qi, M., Zhang, M., Feng, N., Ryan, T. P., Schloot, N. C., Chen, Y. & Sam, F and Wang, L#. Association of Long‐Term Body Mass Index Variability With the Development of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction and Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction Across Patterns of Weight Change. J Am Heart Assoc. 2025 Sep 11;14(18):e039976. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.124.039976. PMCID: PMC12554408
  7. Oshin Miranda, Chen Jiang, Xiguang Qi, Julia Kofler, Robert A. Sweet, and LiRong Wang# “Exploring Potential Medications for Alzheimer’s Disease with Psychosis by Integrating Drug Target Information into Deep Learning Models: A Data-Driven Approach” Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Feb 14;26(4):1617. doi: 10.3390/ijms26041617. PMCID: PMC11855865
  8. Oshin Miranda, Xiguang Qi, Neal David Ryan, Levent Kirisci, Gretchen L Haas, Thomas Kosten, M Daniel Brannock, Ryan Whitworth and LiRong Wang#, “Emulating a randomized clinical trial with real-world data to evaluate the effect of antidepressant use in PTSD patients with high suicide risk” Front Psychiatry. 2025 Jan 28;15:1526488. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1526488. PMCID: PMC11811752
  9. Oshin Miranda, Xiguang Qi, M. Daniel Brannock, Ryan Whitworth, Thomas R. Kosten,Neal David Ryan, Gretchen L. Haas, Levent Kirisci and LiRong Wang# “Integrating Drug Target Information in Deep Learning Models to Predict the Risk of Adverse Events in Patients with Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder” Biomedicines. 2024 Dec 5;12(12):2772. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12122772.PMCID: PMC11673068
  10. Terra Schall, King-Lun Li, Xiguang Qi, Brian Lee, William Wright, Erin Alpaugh, Rachel Zhao, Jianwei Liu, Qize Li, Bo Zeng, LiRong Wang, Yanhua Huang, Oliver Schluter, Eric Nestler, Edward Nieh and Yan Dong “Temporal Dynamics of Nucleus Accumbens Neurons in Male Mice During Reward Seeking”, Nat Commun 15, 9285 (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53690-8. PMCID: PMC11519475
  11. Josh Krivinko, Peihao Fan, Zhiyu Sui, Cassandra Happe, Christopher Hensler, Brandon McKinney, Jason Newman, Ying Ding, LiRong Wang, Matthew MacDonald, Jordan Gilardi, Milos Ikonomovic, Robert A. Sweet, “Age-related loss of large dendritic spines in the precuneus is statistically mediated by proteins which are predicted targets of existing drugs" Mol Psychiatry 30, 2059–2067 (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02817-w
  12. Miranda O, Kiehl S, Qi X, Ryan ND, Kirisci L, Brannock MD, Kosten T, Wang Y, Wang L#. Enhancing post-traumatic stress disorder patient assessment: Leveraging Natural Language Processing for Research of Domain Criteria Identification using electronic medical records. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 24, 154 (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s12911-024-02554-8. PMCID: PMC11151516
  13. Miranda, O., Levent Kirisci, LiRong Wang. "Artificial Intelligence Advancements for Personalized PTSD Research." International Journal of Person Centered Medicine 2024, 14(2): 27-60.
  14. Miranda O, Fan P, Qi X, Wang H, Brannock MD, Kosten TR, Ryan ND, Kirisci L, Wang L#. DeepBiomarker2: Prediction of alcohol and substance use disorder risk in post-traumatic stress disorder patients using electronic medical records and multiple social determinants of health. J. Pers. Med. 2024, 14(1), 94; DOI: 10.3390/jpm14010094. PMCID: PMC10817272
  15. Miranda O, Fan P, Qi X, Wang H, Brannock MD, Kosten T, Ryan ND, Kirisci L, Wang L#. Prediction of Adverse Events Risk in Patients with Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder Using Electronic Medical Records by Deep Learning Models. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2024:111066. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.111066. PMCID: PMC10853953
  16. Fan P, Miranda O, Qi X, Kofler J, Sweet RA, Wang L#. Unveiling the Enigma: Exploring Risk Factors and Mechanisms for Psychotic Symptoms in Alzheimer’s Disease through Electronic Medical Records with Deep Learning Models. Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(7), 911; DOI: 10.3390/ph16070911. PMCID: PMC10385983
  17. Josh M Krivinko, Michael DeChellis-Marks, Lang Zeng, Peihao Fan, Oscar L. Lopez, Ying Ding, LiRong Wang, Julia Kofler, Robert A. Sweet, “Targeting the post-synaptic proteome has therapeutic potential for psychosis in Alzheimer Disease”, Commun Biol 6, 598 (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04961-5. PMCID: PMC10238472
  18. Fan P, Zeng L, Ding Y, Julia Kofler, Jonathan Silverstein, Joshua Krivinko, Robert Sweet, LiRong Wang#. Combination of Antidepressants and Antipsychotics as A Novel Treatment Option for Psychosis in Alzheimer’s Disease. CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology.; 01 May 2023 DOI: 10.1002/psp4.12979. PMCID: PMC10431054
  19. Fan, P. , Julia Kofler, Ying Ding, Michael Marks, Robert A Sweet, LiRong Wang#. Efficacy difference of antipsychotics in Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia: explained with network efficiency and pathway analysis methods, Brief Bioinform. 2022 Nov 19;23(6):bbac394.doi: 10.1093/bib/bbac394. PMCID: PMC9677501
  20. Miranda O, Fan P, Qi X, Yu Z, Ying J, Wang H, Brent D, Silverstein J, Chen Y, Wang L#. “DeepBiomarker: Identifying Important Lab Tests from Electronic Medical Records for the Prediction of Suicide-related Events among PTSD Patients”. J Pers Med. 2022 Mar 24;12(4):524. doi: 10.3390/jpm12040524. PMCID: PMC9025406
  21. Gray M, Priyanka P, Kane-Gill S, Wang L, Kellum JA. “Kidney and Mortality Outcomes Associated with Ondansetron in Critically Ill Patients” J Intensive Care Med 2022 Oct;37(10):1403-1410. doi: 10.1177/08850666211073582. Epub 2022 Jan 8.
  22. Xiaojiang Guo, Xiguang Qi, Peihao Fan, Michael Gilbert, Andrew D. La, Zeyu Liu, Richard Bertz, John A. Kellum, Yu Chen, LiRong Wang#, “Effect of Ondansetron on Reducing ICU Mortality in Patients with Acute Kidney Injury”, Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 30;11(1):19409. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-98734-x. PMCID: PMC8484575
  23. Noah R Delapaz, William K Hor, Michael Gilbert, Andrew D La, Feiran Liang, Peihao Fan, Xiguang Qi, Xiaojiang Guo, Jian Ying, Dara Sakolsky, Levent Kirisci, Jonathan C Silverstein, LiRong Wang#, “An emulation of randomized trials of administrating antipsychotics in PTSD patients for outcomes of suicide-related events”, J Pers Med. 2021 Mar 4;11(3):178. doi: 10.3390/jpm11030178. PMCID: PMC8001183
  24. Fan P, Guo X, Qi X, Matharu M, Patel R, Sakolsky D, Kirisci L, Silverstein JC, Wang L#., Prediction of suicide-related events by analyzing electronic medical records from PTSD patients with bipolar disorder. Brain Sci. 2020 Oct 27;10(11):784. doi: 10.3390/brainsci10110784. PMCID: PMC7692143
  25. Michael Gilbert, Andrew Dinh La, Noah Romulo Delapaz, William Kenneth Hor, Peihao Fan, Xiguang Qi, Xiaojiang Guo, Jian Ying, LiRong Wang#, “An emulation of randomized trials of administrating benzodiazepines in PTSD patients for outcomes of suicide-related events”. J Clin Med. 2020 Oct 29;9(11):3492. doi: 10.3390/jcm9113492. PMCID: PMC7694098
  26. Xiguang Qi, Mingzhe Shen, Peihao Fan, Xiaojiang Guo, Tianqi Wang, Ning Feng, Manling Zhang, Robert A. Sweet#, Levent Kirisci#, and LiRong Wang#, The Performance of Gene Expression Signature-Guided Drug-Disease Association in Different Categories of Drugs and Diseases, Molecules. 2020 Jun 16;25(12):2776. doi: 10.3390/molecules25122776. PMCID: PMC7357095
  27. P. Fan, X. Qi, R.A. Sweet, L. Wang#, Network Systems Pharmacology-Based Mechanism Study on the Beneficial Effects of Vitamin D against Psychosis in Alzheimer’s Disease, Sci Rep. 2020 Apr 9;10(1):6136. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-63021-8. PMCID: PMC7145835
  28. Z. Hu, Y. Jing, Y. Xue, P. Fan, L. Wang, M. Vanyukov, L. Kirisci, J. Wang, R.E. Tarter, X.-Q. Xie, Analysis of substance use and its outcomes by machine learning: II. Derivation and prediction of the trajectory of substance use severity, Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019 Oct 1;206:107604. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107604. PMCID: PMC747607
  29. Y. Jing, Z. Hu, P. Fan, Y. Xue, L. Wang, R.E. Tarter, L. Kirisci, J. Wang, M. Vanyukov, X.-Q. Xie, Analysis of substance use and its outcomes by machine learning I. Childhood evaluation of liability to substance use disorder, Drug and alcohol dependence, 206 (2020) 107605. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019 Oct 22;206:107605. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107605. PMCID: PMC6980708
  30. Bian Y, Jing Y, Wang L, Ma S, Jun JJ, Xie XQ. “Prediction of Orthostatic and Allosteric Regulations on Cannabinoid Receptors Using Supervised Machine Learning Classifiers.” Mol Pharm. 2019 Jun 3;16(6):2605-2615. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.9b00182. Epub 2019 May 3.
  31. Wu X, Xie S, Wang L, Fan P, Ge S, Xie XQ, Wu W. “A computational strategy for finding novel targets and therapeutic compounds for opioid dependence” PLoS One. 2018 Nov 7;13(11):e0207027. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207027. eCollection 2018. PMCID: PMC6221321
  32. Wang L, Ying J, Fan P, Weamer EA, DeMichele-Sweet MAA, Lopez OL, Kofler JK, Sweet RA “Effects of Vitamin D Use on Outcomes of Psychotic Symptoms in Alzheimer Disease Patients”, Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2019 Mar 27. pii: S1064-7481(19)30321-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2019.03.016. PMCID: PMC6693492
  33. Chen M, Jing Y, Wang L, Feng Z, Xie XQ. “DAKB-GPCRs: An Integrated Computational Platform for Drug Abuse Related GPCRs”. J Chem Inf Model. 2019 Apr 22;59(4):1283-1289. doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.8b00623. Epub 2019 Mar 14. PMCID: PMC6758544
  34. Fan P, Wang N, Wang L#, Xie XQ#. “Autophagy And Apoptosis Specifc Knowledgebases-Guided Systems Pharmacology Drug Research”. Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2019 Feb 6. doi: 10.2174/1568009619666190206122149. PMCID: PMC6774909
  35. LiRong Wang, Shifan Ma, Ziheng Hu, Terence Francis McGuire, and Xiang-Qun Xie, “Chemogenomics Systems Pharmacology Mapping of Potential Drug Targets for Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury” J Neurotrauma. 2019 Feb 15;36(4):565-575. doi: 10.1089/neu.2018.5757. Epub 2018 Sep 6. PMCID: PMC6354609 (co-first author)
  36. Hu Z, Wang L, Ma S, Kirisci L, Feng Z, Xue Y, Klunk WE, Kamboh MI, Sweet RA, Becker J, Lv Q, Lopez OL, Xie XQ “Synergism of antihypertensives and cholinesterase inhibitors in Alzheimer's disease”. Alzheimer’s Dement (NY). 2018 Oct 14;4:542-555. doi: 10.1016/j.trci.2018.09.001. eCollection 2018. PMCID: PMC6205113
  37. Jing Y, Bian Y, Hu Z, Wang L, Xie XS. “Deep Learning for Drug Design: an Artificial Intelligence Paradigm for Drug Discovery in the Big Data Era”. AAPS J. 2018 Mar 30;20(3):58. doi: 10.1208/s12248-018-0210-0. PMCID:PMC6608578
  38. Yuemin Bian, Xibing He, Yankang Jing, LiRong Wang, Junmei Wang, Xiang-Qun Xie, “Computational systems pharmacology analysis of cannabidiol: a combination of chemogenomics-knowledgebase network analysis and integrated in silico modeling and simulation” Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2018 Sep 10;40(3):374–386. doi: 10.1038/s41401-018-0071-1. PMCID: PMC6460368
  39. Nanyi Wang, LiRong Wang# and Xiang-Qun Xie#, “ProSelection: A novel algorithm to select proper protein structure subsets for in silico target identification and drug discovery research” J Chem Inf Model. 2017 Nov 27;57(11):2686-2698. doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.7b00277. Epub 2017 Oct 26. PMCID: PMC5836547
  40. Yu Zhang, LiRong Wang, Haizi Cheng, Yahui Ding, Zhiwei Feng, Tao Cheng, Yingdai Gao and Xiang-Qun Xie “StemCellCKB: An Integrated Stem Cell-Specific Chemogenomics Knowledge Base for Target Identification and Systems-Pharmacology Research” J Chem Inf Model. 2016 Oct 7;56(10):1995-2004. doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.5b00748. PMCID: PMC5323316
  41. Xiaomeng Xu, Shifan Ma, Zhiwei Feng, Guanxing Hu, LiRong Wang#, and Xiang-Qun Xie# “Chemogenomics Knowledgebase and Systems Pharmacology for Hallucinogen Target Identification - Salvinorin A as a Case Study” J Mol Graph Model. 2016 Aug 8;70:284-295. doi: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2016.08.001.PMCID: PMC5327504
  42. Hai Zhang, Shifan Ma, Zhiwei Feng, Dongyao Wang, Chengjian Li, Yan Cao, Xiaofei Chen, Aijun Liu, Zhenyu Zhu, Junping Zhang, Guoqing Zhang, Yifeng Chai#, Lirong Wang#, and Xiang-Qun Xie# “Disease-Specific Chemogenomics Knowledgebase-Guided Systems Pharmacology Approach for Target Identification and Drug Synergy and Antagonism Mechanism Study of A Combinational Herbal Formulations” Sci Rep. 2016 Sep 28;6:33963. doi: 10.1038/srep33963.
  43. Jianping Hu, Ziheng Hu, Yan Zhang, Xiaojun Gou, Ying Mu, LiRong Wang# and Xiang-Qun Xie# “Metal binding mediated conformational change of XPA protein: a potential cytotoxic mechanism of Nickel in the nucleotide excision repair” J Mol Model. 2016 Jul;22(7):156. doi: 10.1007/s00894-016-3017-x. Epub 2016 Jun 16. PMCID: PMC5327499
  44. Zhang Z, Li HM, Zhou C, Li Q, Ma L, Zhang Z, Sun Y, Wang L, Zhang X, Zhu B, Hong YS, Wu CZ, Liu H. “Non-benzoquinone geldanamycin analogs trigger various forms of death in human breast cancer cells” J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2016 Sep 22;35(1):149. doi: 10.1186/s13046-016-0428-6. PMCID: PMC5034425
  45. Zhou A, Hu J, Wang L, Zhong G, Pan J, Wu Z, Hui A “Combined 3D-QSAR, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics study of tacrine derivatives as potential acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors of Alzheimer's disease” J Mol Model. 2015 Oct;21(10):277. doi: 10.1007/s00894-015-2797-8. Epub 2015 Oct 5.
  46. Yingdai Gao, Peng Yang, Hongmei Shen, Hui Yu, Xianmin Song, Liyan Zhang, Peng Zhang, Haizi Cheng, Zhaojun Xie, Sha Hao, Yahui Ding, LiRong Wang, Haibin Liu, Yanxin Li, Hui Cheng, Weimin Miao, Weiping Yuan, Youzhong Yuan, Tao Cheng, Xiang-Qun Xie “Small-molecule inhibitors targeting INK4 protein p18 INK4C enhance ex vivo expansion of haematopoietic stem cells”, 2015, Nat Commun. 2015 Feb 18;6:6328. doi: 10.1038/ncomms7328. PMCID: PMC4508125
  47. Qin Ouyang, LiRong Wang, Ying Mu and Xiang-Qun Xie “Modeling Skin Sensitization Potential of Mechanistically Hard-to-be-Classified Aniline and Phenol Compounds with Quantum Mechanistic Properties”, BMC Pharmacol Toxicol. 2014 Dec 24;15:76. doi: 10.1186/2050-6511-15-76. PMCID: PMC4298069 (co-first authors).
  48. Rentian Feng, Qin Tong, Zhaojun Xie, LiRong Wang, Suzanne Lentzsch, G. David Roodman, Charles Sfeir, and Xiang-Qun Xie, “Targeting Cannabinoid Receptor-2 Pathway by Phenylacetylamide Suppresses the Proliferation of Human Myeloma Cells Through Mitotic Dysregulation and Cytoskeleton Disruption” Mol Carcinog. 2015 Dec;54(12):1796-806. doi: 10.1002/mc.22251. Epub 2015 Jan 16.
  49. Feng, Z., M. H. Alqarni, P. Yang, Q. Tong, A. Chowdhury, L. Wang and X.-Q. Xie (2014). "Modeling, Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Mutation Validation for Structure of Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Based on Known Crystal Structures of GPCRs." J Chem Inf Model. 2014 Sep 5;54(9):2483-99. doi: 10.1021/ci5002718. PMCID: PMC4170816
  50. Liu, Haibin; Wang, LiRong; Su, Weiwei and Xiang-Qun Xie. (2014) Advances in recent patent and clinical trial drug development for Alzheimer's disease. Pharm Pat Anal. 2014 Jul;3(4):429-47. doi: 10.4155/ppa.14.22. PMCID: PMC4465887
  51. Cai Z, Ouyang Q, Zeng D, Nguyen KN, Modi J, Wang L, White AG, Rogers BE, Xie XQ, Anderson CJ, “64Cu-labeled somatostatin analogues conjugated with cross-bridged phosphonate-based chelators via strain-promoted click chemistry for PET imaging: in silico through in vivo studies.” J Med Chem. 2014 Jul 24;57(14):6019-29. doi: 10.1021/jm500416f. Epub 2014 Jul 11. PMCID: PMC4261236
  52. Shujing Sheng, Jinxu Wang, LiRong Wang, Hong Liu, Peibo Li, Menghua Liu, Chaofeng Long, Chengshi Xie, Xiangqun Xie, Weiwei Su, “Network pharmacology Analyses of the Antithrombotic pharmacological mechanism of Fufang Xueshuantong capsule with experimental support using disseminated intravascular coagulation rats.” Journal of ethnopharmacology. 05/2014; DOI:10.1016/j.jep.2014.04.048(co-First author).
  53. LiRong Wang, Xiang-Qun Xie "Computational target fishing: what should chemogenomics researchers expect for the future of in silico drug design and discovery?" Future Med Chem. Author manuscript. 2014 Mar;6(3):247-9. doi: 10.4155/fmc.14.5.PMCID: PMC4508123
  54. Liu H, Wang L, Lv M, Pei R, Li P, Pei Z, Wang Y, Su W, Xie X-Q “AlzPlatform: An Alzheimer's Disease Domain-specific Chemogenomics Knowledgebase for Polypharmacology and Target Identification Research”. J Chem Inf Model. 2014 Mar 20;54(4):1050-60. doi: 10.1021/ci500004h. PMCID: PMC4010297 (co-First author).
  55. Xiang-Qun Xie, LiRong Wang, Haibin Liu, Qin Ouyang, Cheng Fang, Weiwei Su “Chemogenomics knowledgebased polypharmacology analyses of drug abuse related G-protein coupled receptors and their ligands”. Frontiers in Pharmacology 2014; 5:3. DOI:10.3389/fphar.2014.00003. PMCID: PMC3915241
  56. Haibin Liu, Fengyin Liang, Weiwei Su, Ning Wang, Mingliang Lv, Peibo Li, Zhong Pei, Yan Zhang, Xiang-Qun Xie, LiRong Wang, Yonggang Wang, “Lifespan extension by n-butanol extract from seed of Platycladus orientalis in Caenorhabditis elegans”, J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 May 20;147(2):366-72. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.03.019. Epub 2013 Mar 21.PMID: 23523941
  57. Matthew LaPorte, Sammi Tsegay, Ki Bum Hong, Chunliang Lu, Cheng Fang, LiRong Wang, Xiang-qun (Sean) Xie, and Paul E. Floreancig “Construction of a Spirooxindole Amide Library through Nitrile Hydrozirconation-Acylation-Cyclization Cascade”. ACS Comb Sci. 2013 Jun 26;15(7):344-9. doi: 10.1021/co4000387. PMCID: PMC3800499
  58. Yang P, Wang L, Feng R, Almehizia AA, Tong Q, Myint KZ, Ouyang Q, Alqarni MH, Wang L, Xie XQ. “Novel Triaryl Sulfonamide Derivatives as Selective Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Inverse Agonist and Osteoclast Inhibitor: Discovery, Optimization and Biological Evaluation.” J Med Chem. 2013 Mar 14;56(5):2045-58. doi: 10.1021/jm3017464. Epub 2013 Mar 1. PMID: 23406429
  59. Ma C, Wang L, Yang P, Tong Q, Myint KZ, and Xie XQ.  “LiCABEDS II. Modeling of Ligand Selectivity for G-protein Coupled Cannabinoid Receptors”, J Chem Inf Model. 2013 Jan 28;53(1):11-26. doi: 10.1021/ci3003914. Epub 2013 Jan 15  PMID: 23278450 (co-First author).
  60. LiRong Wang, Chao Ma, Peter Wipf, Haibin Liu, Weiwei Su and Xiang-Qun Xie. “TargetHunter: An In Silico Target Identification Tool for Predicting Therapeutic Potential of Small Organic Molecules Based on Chemogenomic Database”.  AAPS J. 2013 Apr;15(2):395-406. doi: 10.1208/s12248-012-9449-z. Epub 2013 Jan 5. PMID:23292636
  61. Manuj Tandon, LiRong Wang, Qi Xu, Xiang-Qun Xie, Peter Wipf and Q. Jane Wang. “A Targeted Library Screen Reveals a New Selective Inhibitor Scaffold for Protein Kinase D”.  Plos One 2012;7(9):e44653. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044653 PMID: 23028574 (co-First author)
  62. Yang P, Myint KZ, Tong Q, Feng R, Cao H, Almehizia AA, Hamed AM, Wang L, Bartlow P, Gao Y, Gertsch J, Teramachi J, Kurihara N, Roodman GD, Cheng T, Xie XQ. “Lead Discovery, Chemistry Optimization and Biological Evaluation Studies of Novel Bi-amide Derivatives as CB2 Receptor Inverse Agonists and Osteoclast Inhibitors.” J Med Chem. 2012 Nov 26;55(22):9973-87. doi: 10.1021/jm301212u. Epub 2012 Oct 31. PMID: 23072339
  63. Kay M. Brummond, John Goodell, Matthew LaPorte, LiRong Wang and Xiang-Qun Xie. “Synthesis and In Silico Screening of a Library of Carboline-Containing Compounds”.    Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2012, 8, 1048–1058. PMID:23019432
  64. Kyaw-Zeyar Myint, LiRong Wang, Qin Tong and Xiang-Qun Xie. “Fingerprint-based Artificial Neural Networks QSAR (FANN-QSAR) for Ligand Biological Activity Predictions”.  Mol. Pharm. 2012, 9(10):2912-23. PMID: 22937990
  65. Ajay Srinivasan, Lirong Wang, Cari J. Cline, Zhaojun Xie, Robert W. Sobol, Xiang-Qun Xie and Barry Gold. “Identification and characterization of human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease-1 inhibitors”. Biochemistry. 2012 Jul 24;51(31):6246-59. doi: 10.1021/bi300490r. PMCID: PMC3448856
  66. Peng Yang, LiRong Wang and Xiang-Qun Xie. Latest advances in novel cannabinoid CB2 ligands for drug abuse and their therapeutic potential. Future 2012, 4(2):187-204.
  67.  LiRong Wang, Chao Ma and Xiang-Qun Xie. “Linear and Non-linear Support Vector Machine for the Classification of Human 5-HT1A Ligand Functionality”, Molecular Informatics, 2012. 31(1): p. 85-95. (co-First author)
  68. Yuxun Zhang, Zhaojun Xie, LiRong Wang, Brielle Schreiter, John S Lazo, Jurg Gertsch, Xiang-Qun Xie. “Mutagenesis and computer modeling studies of a GPCR conserved residue W5.43(194) in ligand recognition and signal transduction for CB2 receptor”, Int Immunopharmacol.2011 May 1;11(9):1303-10. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2011.04.013.PMCID: PMC3445262
  69. Kyaw Myint, Chao Ma, LiRong Wang and Xiang-Qun Xie. “Fragment-based QSAR Algorithm Development for Compound Bioactivity Prediction”, SAR and QSAR in Environmental Research, 22(3–4), 385–410. DOI: 10.1080/1062936X.2011.569943
  70. Chao Ma, LiRong Wang and Xiang-Qun Xie. “GPU Accelerated Chemical Similarity Calculation for Compound Library Comparison”, J Chem Inf Model. 2011 Jul 1;51(7):1521-7. doi: 10.1021/ci1004948.PMCID: PMC344526
  71. Thomas O. Painter, LiRong Wang, Supriyo Majumder, Xiang-Qun Xie and Kay M. Brummond. “Diverging DOS Strategy Using an Allene-Containing Tryptophan Scaffold and a Library Design that Maximizes Biologically Relevant Chemical Space While Minimizing the Number of Compounds”,  ACS Comb Sci. 2011 Feb 18;13(2):166-74. doi: 10.1021/co100052s. PMCID: PMC3104414
  72. Chao Ma, LiRong Wang and Xiang-Qun Xie. “Ligand Classifier of Adaptively Boosting Ensemble Decision Stumps (LiCABEDS) and Its Application on Modeling Ligand Functionality for 5HT-Subtype GPCR Families”, J Chem Inf Model. 2011 Mar 7;51(3):521-31. doi: 10.1021/ci100399j.PMCID: PMC3065508
  73. LiRong Wang, Zhaojun Xie, Peter Wipf and Xiang-Qun Xie. “Residue Preference Mapping of Ligand Fragments in PDB”, J Chem Inf Model. 2011 Mar 18;51(4):807-15. doi: 10.1021/ci100386y.PMCID: PMC3081969
  74. Wenlong Xu, Minghui Wang, Xianghua Zhang, LiRong Wang and Huanqing Feng. “SDED: A novel filter method for cancer-related gene selection”, Bioinformation. 2008 Apr 11;2(7):301-3.doi: 10.6026/97320630002301
  75. LiRong Wang, Zhaohui Jiang, Wenlong Xu and Huanqing Feng. “Analysis of Abnormal Transcription Factors and Pathways from Gastric Cancer Chips”, Journal of University of Science and Technology of China 2007, 12, 1539-04(in Chinese)
  76. Minghui Wang, LiRong Wang, Wenlong Xu, Xiaojun Lin, Zhaohui Jiang and Huanqing Feng “Phosphorylation Site Prediction Based on K-Nearest Neighbor Algorithm and BLOSUM62 Matrix”, Chinese Journal of Biomedical Engineering 2007, 26, 404-408 (in Chinese)
  77. Yu Xue, Ao Li, LiRong Wang, Huanqing Feng and Xuebiao Yao. “PPSP: prediction of PK-specific phosphorylation site with Bayesian decision theory”, BMC Bioinformatics 2006, 7, 163. BMC Bioinformatics. 2006 Mar 20:7:163. doi: 10.1186/1471-2105-7-163.
  78. LiRong Wang and Huanqing Feng. “Mining Biomedical Literature Based on Bayesian Statistics”, Chinese Journal of Biomedical Engineering 2006, 25, 438-441(in Chinese) 
Grants
  1. Title: Accelerating Treatment Development for Psychosis in AD: MODEL-AD+P
    Supporting Agency: NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, 2R01MH116046
    Performance Period: 09/25/2018-06/30/2028
    Project Goals: Individuals who develop psychotic symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations during Alzheimer disease have a more rapid deterioration and worse outcomes. In this grant we will evaluate whether compensations in the proteins present in brain synapses confer resilience to psychosis onset during Alzheimer disease, and whether genetic factors associated with resilience to psychosis in Alzheimer disease induce similar, protective compensations in an animal model. Finally, we will use the profile of protein compensation to identify novel medications that may treat and/or prevent psychosis in Alzheimer disease.
    My role in this project is mPI (Sweet, Kofler, Wang)
     
  2. Title: Leveraging Real-World Evidence from Electronic Medical Records to Explore the Multifactorial Pathophysiology of Heart Failure (HF)
    Supporting Agency: Eli Lilly and Company 46285
    Contracting/Grants Officer:
    Performance period: 03/02/2021-10/31/2023
    Project Goals: The goal of the study is to integrate high quality echo and hemodynamic data of HF patients through data-mining the original (raw) medical notes and create preliminary hypothesis through statistical analysis on outcomes for next stage research.
    My role in this project is PI
     
  3. Title: Leverage Electronic Medical Records to Identify Medications Repurposing for Treatment of ASUD with Comorbid PTSD
    Supporting Agency: RTI/subcontract of DOD# W81XWH-15-2-0077 (Dr. Nolen at RTI)
    Contracting/Grants Officer:
    Performance period: 11/01/2022-10/31/2024
    Project Goals: The objective of the proposed research is to identify medications with the potential for PTSD+ASUD treatment by analyzing the electronic medical records (EMR) of these patients.
    My role in this project is subcontract PI

Previous (Past 5 years)

  1. Title: NIDA Center of Excellence OF Computational Drug Abuse Research (CDAR)
    Supporting Agency: NIH/NIDA P30 PDA035778
    Contracting/Grants Officer: Paul Hillery
    Performance Period: 07/01/2014-06/30/20
    Project Goal: The overall goal of the Computational Drug Abuse Research (CDAR) Center is to advance state- of-the art computational technologies for research toward the prevention and treatment of drug abuse (DA).
    My role in this project is co-I
     
  2. Title: Chemogenomics Systems Pharmacology Approach for TBI and AD Research
    Time Commitments: 1.8 calendar
    Supporting Agency: DOD W81XWH-16-1-049
    Performance Period: 09/01/2016-08/30/19
    Project Goal: The objective of the proposed research is to further construct a TBI chemogenomic database based on our previously constructed AD chemogenomic database (AlzPlatform) (cover story: JCIM 2014, 54:1050-60) and apply our established algorithms/technologies to identify the common/shared pathways and possible drug targets between these two diseases. We will then carry out chemical genomics (i.e. chemogenomics) systems pharmacology (CGSP) analysis to predict possible modulators on these targets. The predictions generated from CGSP analyses will serve as driving hypotheses for future experimental validation and will reveal new drug-target associations to guide further drug development for TBI treatment.
    My role in this project is co-I
LiRong Wang
Contact LiRong Wang

6456 Salk Hall
3501 Terrace St
Pittsburgh, PA 15261

liw30@pitt.edu
412-624-8118
Accepting MS Students
Accepting PhD Students