51903-Wang, Ying

Ying Wang, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Anesthesia

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Email
ywa12@iu.edu
Phone
317-278-5045
Address
Stark Neuroscience Building
320 West 15th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202

Bio

Dr. Wang received her Medical Degree (Integrative Medicine, 2006) from Xinjiang Medical University, China; a Master of Science (Acupuncture Science, 2010) from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and a Ph.D. degree (Molecular Pain Research in Neuroscience, 2014) from the University of Würzburg, Germany. She further pursued her postdoctoral training in translational pain research and led her own research as a researcher associate at University of Minnesota (2014-2020). She also obtained a post-graduate Clinical Research certificate degree from University of Minnesota, School of Public Health (2018-2020). She is an awardee of NIH k99 grant studying neurobiological mechanisms and clinical efficacy of acupuncture-implemented integrative pain management of sickle cell disease in both pre-clinical rodent models and patients. She joined Indiana University School of Medicine as a tenure-track assistant professor of anesthesia in July.2020.

Her clinical interest is to implement evidence-based non-opioids and/or non-addictive approaches of pain management and optimize its application to conventional medicine. Her research interest is to understand mechanisms underlying integrative approaches (e.g. acupuncture-related techniques) and develop strategies for its optimization in the acute/chronic pain conditions in related to sickle cell disease, fibromyalgia, cancer, neurological disorders and immune system disorders. 

Key Publications

L Houran, AQ Pucka, M Jiang, ZY Liu, ARW O'Brien, SE Harte, RE Harris, Z Pakbaz, Y Wang*. Self-Administered Acupressure Improves Pain and Quality of Life in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease. Blood Advances (2025). 2025016995. Doi: org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016995. 

W Li, AQ Pucka, L Houran, XQ Huang, C Debats, B Reyes, AR O’Brien, QG Yu*, Y Wang* .  Soluble immune checkpoint landscape in sickle cell disease links systemic inflammation, autoimmunity, and pain. Frontiers of Hematology (2025). Doi: 10.3389/fihem.2025.1580009.

B Kish, JX Yao, AJ Frels, J Budde, VV Nair, AQ Pucka, ZY Liu, ARW O’Brien, YJ Tong*, Y Wang*. Novel identifications of cerebral hemodynamics using BOLD fMRI in patients with sickle cell disease. Imaging Neuroscience (2025) 3: IMAG.a.1. Doi: 10.1162/IMAG.a.1.

S.M. Park, S. Kwon, Y. Ji, H. Sakthivel, J.W. Leem, Y. Kwak, J. Huang, G.T.-C. Chiu, A.R. O’Brien, R.L. Konger, Y. Wang*, and Y.L. Kim*, “Machine reading and recovery of colors for hemoglobin-related bioassays and bioimaging,” Science Advances 11(23): eadt4831, 2025. 

XP Zhou, E Ichesco, AQ Pucka, ZY Liu, AR O'Brien, SE Harte, RE Harris, Y Wang*. Elevated Posterior Insula Glutamate in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease. The Journal of Pain. 2024 Nov 28:104743. Doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104743.

P Joo, M Kim, B Kish, VV Nair, YJ Tong, ZY Liu, ARW O'Brien, SE Harte, RE Harris, UC Lee*, Y Wang*. Brain network hypersensitivity underlies pain crises in sickle cell disease. Sci Rep 14, 7315 (2024). Doi:org/10.1038/s41598-024-57473-5. 

W Li, AQ Pucka, C Debats, B Reyes, F Syed, AR O’Brien, R Mehta, N Manchanda, SA Jacob, BM Hardesty, A Greist, SE Harte, RE Harris, QG Yu*, Y Wang*. Inflammation and autoimmunity are interrelated in patients with sickle cell disease at a steady-state condition: implications for vaso-occlusive crisis, pain, and sensory sensitivity. Frontiers of Immunology (2024). 15:1288187. Doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1288187.

Y Wang*, DD Wang, AQ Pucka, ARW O’Brien, SE Harte, RE Harris RE Differential clinical characteristics across traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Syndromes in patients with sickle cell disease (2024). Front. Pain Res. 4:1233293. doi: 10.3389/fpain.2023.1233293

Y Wang*, SJ Hardy, E Ichesco, PY Zhang, Richard E Harris, DS Darbari* (2021). Alteration of grey matter volume is associated with pain and quality of life in children with sickle cell disease. Translational Research. 2021 Aug 18; S1931-5244(21)00194-8. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2021.08.004.

Y Wang*, JX Lei, R Jha, S Kevin, K Gupta* (2019). Substance P modulates electroacupuncture analgesia in humanized mice with sickle cell disease. Journal of Pain Research. Aug; 2019: 2419-26.

Y Wang, X Wang, W Chen, K Gupta, XH Zhu* (2017). fMRI BOLD response in sickle mice with hyperalgesia. Blood Cells, Molecules and Diseases. Jun; 65:81-85. doi: 10.1016/j.bcmd.2017.03.005

Y Wang, M Gupta, T Poonawala, M Farooqui, YF Li, F Peng, S Rao, M Ansonoff, J Pintar, K Gupta* (2017). Opioids and opioid receptors orchestrate wound repair. Translational Research. Jul; 185:13-23. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2017.05.003.

Y Wang*, JX Lei, M Gupta, F Peng, S Lam, R Jha, Al Beitz, K Gupta* (2016). Electroacupuncture in conscious free-moving mice reduces pain by ameliorating peripheral and central nociceptive mechanisms. Scientific Reports. Sep 30; 6:34493. doi: 10.1038/srep34493

Y Wang*, R. Truemper, S. A. Mousa, D. Hackel, A. Brack, H. L. Rittner* (2014). CXCL10 controls inflammatory pain via opioid peptide-containing macrophages in acupuncture. PLoS ONE. Apr 14; 9(4): e94696. doi: 10. 1371/journal.pone.0094696.  

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