About
Dr Jiang-Hui (Sloan) Wang
Head of Ocular Genetics Therapeutics Research
Dr Jiang-Hui (Sloan) Wang is a Senior Research Fellow with a focus on molecular biology and gene therapy.
Dr Jiang-Hui (Sloan) Wang
Head of Ocular Genetics Therapeutics Research
PhD
Dr Jiang-Hui (Sloan) Wang is Head of CERA’s Ocular Genetic Therapeutics Research and a Senior Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne, where he leads a program developing next-generation gene therapies for retinal diseases.
Dr Wang’s work is focused on engineering advanced adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, particularly intravitreally delivered capsids, to improve delivery to clinically important retinal cell types. He also is focused on building scalable platforms to accelerate translational ocular gene therapy.
He completed his PhD in Ophthalmology at The University of Melbourne and undertook postdoctoral training at UMass Chan Medical School in the U.S. (2022–2025). At UMass Chan, Dr Wang worked in the laboratory of Professor Guangping Gao – a world-renowned AAV and gene therapy expert specialising in AAV discovery and translational development of gene therapies.
Dr Wang’s research spans both platform development and disease-focused programs, including improved AAV delivery for inherited retinal degeneration, such as Stargardt’s disease, Usher syndrome and Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).
He holds several patents on his capsid engineering platforms, with his achievements recognised by awards including the Horae Gene Therapy Postdoctoral Fellowship, American Australian Association Graduate Education Fund Scholarship, as well as multiple Meritorious Abstract Travel Awards from the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.
Beyond his laboratory leadership, Dr Wang is an active member of patient-advocacy groups, providing expert lay summaries for Retina Australia and Usher Syndrome Coalition. This helps ensure gene-therapy innovations reach, and are understood by, the communities they aim to serve.
Key research questions
- How can we engineer next-generation AAV capsids to achieve efficient, cell-type-specific gene delivery to the retina, particularly via intravitreal injection?
- What viral and expression-cassette design features best enable safe and efficient payload delivery in clinically important retinal cell types?
- How can we expand ocular gene therapy to diseases with major technical hurdles, such as large genes (e.g., ABCA4, USH genes) and mitochondrial targets (e.g., LHON), using scalable vector and payload strategies?
- How can we optimise AAV vectors for translation by improving dose-efficiency, manufacturability and safety to enable reliable preclinical-to-clinical development?
Current projects
Selected publications
My team
Key collaborators
Fellowships/awards
Funding and support
Current projects
- Next-Generation AAV Capsid Engineering to Enhance Retinal Gene Delivery
- Mechanistic Study of the Role of the 3′ Untranslated Region in Wild-Type AAV Genomes
- Gene Therapy Platforms for Large-Gene Inherited Retinal Disorders (e.g., Usher Syndromes)
- Mitochondria-Targeted Retinal Gene Therapies for Optic Neuropathies (e.g., LHON)
- Long-Acting Gene Therapies for Neovascular and Atrophic Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Selected publications
Wang, J. H., Gessler, D.J., Zhan, W., Gallagher, T.L., Gao, G. (2024) Adeno-associated virus as a delivery vector for gene therapy of human diseases. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. 9 (1):78.
Wang, J. H., Cui, M., Liu, H., Guo, P., McGowan, J., Cheng, S.Y., Gessler, D.J., Gao, G. (2025) Cell-penetrating peptide-grafted AAV2 capsids for improved retinal delivery via intravitreal injection. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev. 33(1):101426.
Diao, Y., Xiong, X., Liu, J., Tent, X., Shi, Q., Jin, S., … Wang, J. H.#, Zhong, J.#, Tu, L#. (2025) Clofarabine enhances the transduction efficiency of recombinant AAV2 in the retina. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 66 (42).
Wang, J. H., Zhan, W., Gallagher, T.L., Gao, G. (2024) Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus as a Delivery Platform for Ocular Gene Therapy: A Comprehensive Review. Molecular Therapy. 28:S1525-0016(24)00677-4.
Wang, J. H., Lin F.L., Chen, J., Zhu, L., Chuang, Y.F., Tu, L., Ma, C., Lama, S., Ling, D., Wong, R.C.B., Hewitt A.W., Tseng, C.L., Bui B.V., van Wijngaardena, P., Dusting, G.J., Wang, P.Y., Liu, G.S. (2023). TAK1 blockade as a therapy for retinal neovascularization. Pharmacological Research. 16;187:106617.
My team
- Wenting (Wendy) Zhao – Research Assistant (UMass Chan Medical School, USA)
- Sheridan Keene – Laboratory Manager (CERA)
Key collaborators
UMass Chan Medical School, USA
- Professor Guangping Gao
- Associate Professor Claudio Punzo
CERA
- Professor Guei-Sheung (Rick) Liu
- Professor Raymond CB Wong
- Professor Robyn Gumer AM
- Dr Tom Edwards
- Professor Lauren Ayton AM
- Dr Isabel Lopez Sanchez
- Professor Pete Williams
Lions Eye Institute
- Associate Professor Fred Chen
Fellowships/awards
- DHB fellowship, DHB foundation (2025-2027)
- Meritorious Abstract Award, American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (2024, 2025)
- Horae Gene Therapy Postdoctoral Fellowship, UMass Chan, USA (2024)
- Graduate Education Fund Scholarship, American Australian Association (2022)
- Australian Vision Research Best Paper, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of (2022)
- The Member-in-training Outstanding Researcher Award, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) (2017)
Funding and support
Thank you to the following organisations for their support:
- DHB Foundation
- Macular Disease Foundation Australia
- Retina Australia
- Australian Vision Research Grant
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