Genetics Research Characterized by Collaboration, Cutting-Edge Science and Prestigious Accolades

UH Clinical Update | December 2025

Zhenghe "John" Wang, PhD, new Chair of Genetics at University Hospitals, is doubling down on the power of research. He touts the efforts of the department’s dedicated clinicians and scientists who are working every day to unlock mysteries that aim to improve human health. Even after years in the field, he says he’s amazed at what he’s seeing.

“Gene therapy used to be science fiction, but now it’s become reality,” he says. “That’s the strategic initiative for the department. We try to build up both the clinic side and the research side, develop the new treatment and then move towards the clinic practice.”

Patients at UH benefit from the strong connection between University Hospitals and the researchers in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. As with many clinical departments at UH, Dr. Wang leads both the UH and CWRU departments. He shares these recent genetics accolades and breakthroughs from his UH and CWRU colleagues:

• Tony Wynshaw-Boris, MD, PhD, former genetics chair at both UH and CWRU and a pediatric geneticist at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, was recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Wynshaw-Boris is recognized by the academy for advancing research on the pathophysiology of developmental neurogenetic disorders such as ataxia telangiectasia, lissencephalies, and autism; identifying targets for potential new therapies through the creative use of animal models and induced pluripotent stem cells; and demonstrating an outstanding commitment to service, particularly in the area of genetics policy. “Being elected to the National Academy of Medicine is a tremendous honor,” he says, “and is a testament to the outstanding postdoctoral researchers and students who have worked in my lab as well as the collaborators that I have been fortunate to work with.”
• Maria Hatzoglou, PhD, Professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences at CWRU, recently published a study in the prestigious journal Nature that’s causing people to rethink how cells respond to stress. Her research suggests that an adaptive response to stress – what she calls “split-integrated stress response” or s-ISR — could potentially be exploited to kill cancer cells and more effectively treat neurodegenerative diseases. “This study represents a new way of thinking about cellular stress,” Dr. Hatzoglou says. “ISR is not a one-size-fits-all system like we used to think. Instead, it can change and adjust depending on the type, strength and length of the stress the cell is experiencing.” Understanding this adaptation to stress could lead to new targets for cancer chemotherapy, Dr. Hatzoglou says, because cancer cells respond to stressors like chemotherapy in one of two ways: either self-destruct or mutate to preserve their function, becoming resistant to the treatment.
• Paul Tesar, PhD, Director of CWRU’s Institute for Glial Studies, recently published a study in the noted journal Cell identifying a type of built-in “brake” that determines when certain brain cells mature. This process is especially important in multiple sclerosis, where the brake stays on too long and hampers the ability to repair damage caused by the disease. The discovery also presents a potential regenerative medicine approach to repair the damage caused by MS and similar diseases affecting the nervous system. “Myelin damage drives disability in MS, and the only cells that can repair it are glial cells called oligodendrocytes,” Dr. Tesar says. “By identifying the molecular brake that controls when oligodendrocytes mature, we reveal a clear path to unlocking the brain’s own repair program. We believe these new insights will help deliver on the promise of regenerative therapies that MS patients so urgently need.”
• Mitchell Drumm, PhD, from CWRU’s Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, recently published a study in the prestigious journal Science detailing a possible new process for lung-targeted gene editing in cystic fibrosis. It’s been challenging to achieve outside of lab settings. "For all these molecular therapies, where we're trying to fix the gene or fix the protein, getting the repair machinery into the cells that you want in a living organism has been the biggest challenge.” A colleague at UT Southwestern developed small fat droplets known as lipid nanoparticles that can deliver nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) to cells in the body to correct mutations that cause disease.

Not content with these successes, Dr. Wang and his colleagues are plotting a course for even more genetics research with impact.