Welcome to Our Newest Member Jay Wen!

Jay Wen's interest in precision medicine started as a research assistant in Taipei Medical University working under Dr. Wei-Chiao Chang where he studied the genetic risk factors for developing ankylosing spondylitis and the genetic interaction between the genes HLA-B60 and HLA-B27 as a predictor for AS patients in Taiwanese population. While obtaining his PharmD at the University of Minnesota, he worked with Drs. Robert Straka and Youssef Roman on the Genetics Of HyperUricemia Therapy in Hmong (GOUT-H) study which explored the genetic basis of gout in a under-served and under-studied population. Having the passion in the pharmacogenomics field, he then joined the graduate program under the supervision of Dr. Straka in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy after his PharmD training.

Currently, his research focuses on the determination of known genetic variations within Very Important Pharmacogenes (VIPs) in the Hmong population which brings local, state-wide and regional relevance to the nationally supported NIH “Precision Medicine Initiative”. In addition to his research focus, I am also one of the graduate students on the planning committee for the upcoming 2018 Pharmacogenomics Conference.