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. In Aug.2025, Dr. Wang received her NIH R01 award to study the immunological mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia in patients with sickle cell disease.

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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