Tao Wang, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc.

Headshot of Tao Wang
  • Associate Director, Medical Genetics Residency and Fellowship Program
  • Associate Professor of Genetic Medicine
Male

Expertise

Medical Genetics

Research Interests

X-linked intellectual disability (XLID); Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs); Inborn errors of metabolism of central nerve system; Molecular basis of X-linked mental retardation and human cognitive development; Pathogenesis and therapy of inherited metabolic disease with CNS involvement ...read more

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Insurance Information

Main Phone

Outside of Maryland & Washington D.C.

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Locations

The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Main Entrance)

Appointment Phone: 410-955-3071
1800 Orleans St.
Sheikh Zayed Tower
Baltimore, MD 21287
Phone: 443-287-3525 | Fax: 410-955-7397
The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Main Entrance) - Google Maps

Background

Dr. Tao Wang is an associate professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His areas of clinical expertise include global developmental delays and intellectual disability neurobehavioral disorders in children, and genetic and genomic syndromes and inborn errors of metabolism. 

Dr. Wang earned his M.D. from Zhongshan Medical University in China and a Ph.D. in human genetics from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his residency in pediatrics at Tufts -New England Medical Center Hospitals and performed fellowships in clinical genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and clinical biochemical genetics at Kennedy Krieger Institute. 

His research interests include x-linked intellectual disabilities (XLID), autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and inborn errors of metabolism of the central nervous system.

Dr. Wang is the associate director of the Medical Genetics Residency and Fellowship Program and a preceptor in the Predoctoral Training Program in Human Genetics.

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Titles

  • Associate Director, Medical Genetics Residency and Fellowship Program
  • Associate Professor of Genetic Medicine
  • Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Departments / Divisions

Centers & Institutes

Education

Degrees

  • MD; Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences (1984)

Residencies

  • Pediatrics; Tufts-New England Medical Center Hospitals (1999)

Fellowships

  • Pediatric Genetics; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2002)

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (Clinical Genetics (MD)) (2002)
  • American Board of Pediatrics (Pediatrics) (2021)

Research & Publications

Research Summary

Our lab studies the genetic and neuronal mechanisms underlying developmental brain disorders including intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and in developing effective treatment for these disorders.

To systematically identify novel disease-causing genes for X-linked ID (XLID), we use high-throughput genomic approaches including X-chromosome cDNA microarray and next-generation sequencing to screen all known genes and functional elements on human X chromosome in XLID patients. We study mechanisms of novel XLID genes using in vitro and neuronal assays, electrophysiology and mutant mouse models. Current projects are focused on characterizing novel XLID candidate genes involving glutamate-signaling pathway, and phosphorylation and palmitoylation of key neuronal proteins.

To understand mechanisms of synaptic dysfunction in ASDs, we sequence genes encoding all known synaptic proteins, synaptome, in patients to identify causal and risk variants. We conduct functional studies of these variants using in vitro and neuronal assays, electrophysiology and mutant mouse models. One current focus is to understand glutamate-signaling disturbance in social dysfunction in ASDs.

Selected Publications

Niranjan TS, May M, Skinner C, Turner T, Rose R, Stevenson R, Schwartz CE, Wang T.  “Affected kindred analysis of human X chromosome exomes to identify novel X-linked intellectual disability genes” PLoS ONE. 2015 Feb 13;10(2):e0116454. 

Ngoh A, Mctague A, Wentzensen IM, Meyer E, Applegate C, Kossoff EH, Batista DA, Wang T, Kurian MA. “Severe infantile epileptic encephalopathy due to mutations in PLCB1: expansion of the genotypic and phenotypic disease spectrum.” Dev Med Child Neurol. 2014 Nov;56:1124-8. 

Basehore MJ, Michaelson-Cohen R, Levy-Lahad E, Sismani C, Bird L, Friez MJ, Walsh TJ, Abidi F, Holloway L, Skinner C, McGee S, Alexandrou A, Syrrou M, Patsalis PC, Wang T, Schwartz CE, King MC, Stevenson RE. “Alpha-thalassemia intellectual disability: variable phenotypic expression among males with the p.R37X mutation.” Clinic Genet. 2015 May;87(5):461-6.

Adamczyk A, Mejias R. Takamiya K, Yocum J, Krasnova N, Calderon J, Cadet JL, Huganir R, Pletnikov M, and Wang T (2012) “GluA3-deficiency in mice is associated with increased social and aggressive behavior and elevated dopamine in striatum.” Behav Brain Res. 2012 Apr 1;229:265.

Pirooznia M, Wang T, Avramopoulos D, Valle D, Thomas G, Huganir R, Goes FS, Potash JB, Zandi PP. “SynaptomeDB: an ontology-based knowledgebase for synaptic genes.” Bioinformatics. 2012 Mar 15;28(6):897.

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