Dr. Hua Wang

Dr. Hua Wang received her B.S. degree in microbiology from Fudan University, M.S. from Utah State University and Ph.D. from University of Minnesota in food science and nutrition (lactic acid bacteria genetics). She was a recipient of the NIH/NIGMS biotechnology traineeship for her Ph.D. training, and post-doctoral fellowship at NIH in 1999. She had served as an FDA Consumer Food Safety Officer before joining OSU as a faculty in 2001. She was a former Chair of Food Microbiology Division, American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and Chair of Biotechnology Division, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). She also served on the USDA Food Safety Panel, NIH study session, External Advisory Committee for NASA ALS NSCORT, Editorial Board for J Food Protection, and as an Associate Editor for Microbial Spectrum. She received the 2015 Director’s Innovator of the Year Award from OARDC, as well as the 2009 Battelle Endowment Project Award for Technology and Human Affairs from the Provost’s Office at OSU for her pioneering work on combating antibiotic resistance in the global ecosystem. As a 2008–2010 ASM distinguished lecturer, she delivered keynote lectures at ASM branch meetings nationwide.

Area of Expertise: Antibiotic resistance, host and food microbiota, food fermentation, biofilms, lactic acid bacteria and Listeria monocytogenes, rapid detection of microbes and gene pools

Research Interest: The main research interest in my laboratory has evolved from improving fermentation starter culture performance, rapid molecular detection methods, revealing key players and mechanisms involved in microbial persistence and resistance to environmental challenges such as biofilms, to uncovering the key drivers and targeted mitigation of antibiotic resistance, destructed gut microbiota and impacted human diseases. In the past 20 years, we have uncovered the critical roles of commensal microbiota, including “beneficial” bacteria in horizontal gene transmission and antibiotic resistance (AR) dissemination^{1, 2, 3}, collaborated with the food industry for successful mitigation of the largest foodborne AR gene pool (2005-2010)⁴, and facilitated the adjustment of the scope of research investigation and investment on antibiotic resistance⁵. We further discovered that gut impacting drugs (orally administered antibiotics and biliary excreted antibiotics), instead of the application of antibiotics, as the key driver for the rapid surge of antibiotic resistance in the global ecosystem & massive disruption of host gut microbiota^6,7. This major knowledge breakthrough solved the long-lasting dilemma surrounding antibiotic usage and has opened the door for effective mitigation of the top global public health threats of antibiotic resistance and “modern” diseases impacted by destructed gut microbiota https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/703018. Since 2020, the World Health Organization recognized MISUSE and overuse of antibiotics as the key driver for antibiotic resistance. While popular rescue approaches further introduce unintended public health risks^8,9, providing alternatives to gut impacting drugs, including the mainstream oral administration of antibiotics has become a stressing need to protect public health.

Referred publications:

1. Luo H, Wan K, Wang HH. High-frequency conjugation system facilitates biofilm formation and pAMbeta1 transmission by Lactococcus lactis. 2005. Appl Environ Microbiol. 71(6):2970-8. doi: 10.1128/AEM.71.6.2970-2978.2005.
2. Wang HH, Manuzon M, Lehman M, Wan K, Luo H, Wittum TE, Yousef A, Bakaletz LO. Food commensal microbes as a potentially important avenue in transmitting antibiotic resistance genes. 2006. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 254(2):226-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2005.00030.x. Erratum in: FEMS Microbiol Lett. 255(2):328.
3. Manuzon MY, Hanna SE, Luo H, Yu Z, Harper WJ, Wang HH. 2007. Quantitative assessment of the tetracycline resistance gene pool in cheese samples by real-time TaqMan PCR. Appl Environ Microbiol. 73(5):1676-7. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01994-06.
4. Li X, Li Y, Alvarez V, Harper WJ, Wang HH. 2011. Effective antibiotic resistance mitigation during cheese fermentation. Appl Environ Microbiol. 77(20):7171-5. doi: 10.1128/AEM.05069-11. 
5. Wang HH. 2010. Antibiotic resistance mitigation: a complicated issue begging for targeted investigation. Microbe. 5(12): 504-505. Microbe-AR-recommendation-otfkwe.pdf (cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com)
6. Zhang L, Huang Y, Zhou Y, Buckley T, Wang HH. 2013. Antibiotic administration routes significantly influence the levels of antibiotic resistance in gut microbiota. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 57(8): 3659-66. Epub 2013 May 20. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00670-13.
7. Zhou Y, Li Y, Zhang L, Wu Z, Huang Y, Yan H, Zhong J, Wang L, Abdullah H, Wang HH. 2020. Antibiotic administration routes and oral exposure to antibiotic resistant bacteria as key drivers for gut microbiota disruption and resistome in poultry. Front. Microbiol., 07 July 2020 |https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01319
8. Liu H, Wang HH. 2020. Impact of microbiota transplant on resistome of gut microbiota in gnotobiotic piglets and human subjects. Frontiers in Microbiology. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00932/full doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00932.
9. Zhang W, Qu W, Wang H, Yan H. 2021. Antidepressants fluoxetine and amitriptyline induce alterations in intestinal microbiota and gut microbiome function in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress. Transl Psychiatry. 2021 Feb 18;11(1):131. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01254-5.
   
   Related Activities:

• Dr. Wang was selected as the IFT representative to showcase the impact of USDA-sponsored cutting-edge research on antibiotic resistance and gut health at Capitol Hill (4/5/2017)

• American Society of Microbiology delivered a Conference on Innovative Microbial Ecology for Mitigation of Antibiotic Resistance and Bacterial Diseases, chaired by Dr. Wang (March 22-25, 2017, Crystal City, VA) 2017 ASM Conference program only (002).pdf
• The U.S.-UK Global Innovation Initiative team delivered international conference and global impact on antibiotic resistance, gut microbiota and health (Oct 25-27, 2015, Shanghai, China)
• 2013 ASM news release: Antibiotics: Change Route of Delivery to Mitigate Resistance  Antibiotics: Change route of delivery to miti | EurekAlert!
• Widespread Use of Oral Antibiotics Could Be a Significant Cause of Antibiotic Resistance https://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/researchers-widespread-use-oral-antibiotics-could-be-significant-cause-antibiotic
• USDA-CSREES Conference on Food Safety and Public Health Frontier: Minimizing Antibiotic Resistance Transmission through the Food Chain (April 2-3, 2009, Crystal City, VA) 2009 USDA Antibiotic Resistance Mitigation Food Safety International Meeting (Washington, DC) | International Consortium on Antibiotic Resistance Mitigation and Microbiome (osu.edu)
• 2007 ASM news release: Resistance genes in our food supply https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/asfm-rgi051707.php