Wang, Hua

Hua H. Wang, Ph.D., is an associate professor in food microbiology, Department of Food Science and Technology, Department of Microbiology, and Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Human Nutrition. She received her Ph.D. from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, post-doctoral training from NIH/NICHD, and served as an FDA regulatory officer before joining OSU.
Dr. Wang’s laboratory is primarily interested in revealing the mechanisms of biofilm formation involving foodborne pathogenic and health-promoting microorganisms, the impact of foodborne microbes and food ingredients on host ecosystem development, the role of the food chain in antibiotic resistance gene transmission, as well as developing and implementing high throughput platforms to detect and identify microorganisms in complex ecosystems.  Dr. Wang’s group defined the original “honeycomb” biofilm architecture in Listeria monocytogenes. Using Lactococcus lactis as a model for Gram-positive bacteria, her group provided primary evidence showing that microbes can use conjugation to effectively spread biofilm determinants and enhance microbial ecosystem development, and that inherited high frequency gene transfer mechanism in commnensal bacteria can significantly facilitate antibiotic resistance gene transmission (more than 10,000 times). Her group further demonstrated the presence of a large antibiotic resistance gene pool in commensal bacteria in many ready-to-eat retail foods, and its potential impact on the resistance of the host microflora.  Dr. Wang is currently collaborating with leading public health, oral, medical, veterinary, environmental, and food microbiologists to systematically investigate the interactions of foodborne microbes with both the environment and the host. To facilitate technology transfer, Dr. Wang’s group is also involved in developing the CleanPlant rapid molecular detection system for agricultural and food industrial applications.

Selected Publications:
Jaykus L, Wang HH, Schlesinger L. (eds). Foodborne Microbes: Shaping the Host Ecosystems. ASM Press. In progress.

Blaschek PH, Wang HH, Agle M. (eds.) 2007. Biofilms in the Food Environment. Blackwell Publishing Co.

Manuzon MY, Hanna SE , Luo H , Yu Z , Harper WJ, Wang HH. 2007.  Quantitative Assessment of Tetracycline Resistance Gene Pool in Cheese Samples, by Real-Time Taqman(R) PCR. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007 Jan 5. [Epub ahead of print].

Hanna SE, Wang HH. 2006. Environmental factors affect the expression of Listeria monocytogenes virulence factor inlA. J Food Protect. 69(11):2754-2757.

Lu L, Tomita A, Wang H, Buchholz DR, Shi YB. 2006. Transcriptional regulation of the xenopus laevis stromelysin-3 gene by thyroid hormone is mediated by a DNA element in the first intron. J. Biol. Chem. 281:16870-16878.

Wang HH, Manuzon MY, Lehman M, Wan K, Luo H, Wittum TE, Yousef AE, Bakaletz LO. 2006. Food commensal microbes as a potentially important avenue in transmitting antibiotic resistance genes. FEMS Micrbiol Lett. 254: 226-231. Erratum in: FEMS Microbiol Lett.  255:328.

Wan K, Yousef AE, Schwartz SJ, Wang HH. 2006. Rapid, specific and sensitive detection of spoilage molds in orange juice using a real-time Taqman® PCR assay. J Food Protect. 69:385-390.

Luo H, Wan K, Wang HH. 2005. High-frequency conjugation system facilitates biofilm formation and pAMß1 transmission by Lactococcus lactis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71:2970-2978.

Marsh EJ, Luo L, Wang H. 2003. A three-tiered approach to differentiate Listeria monocytogenes biofilm-forming abilities. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 228:203-210.

Links
Department of Microbiology
Department of Food Science and Technology