Group Members

Students, postdocs, and staff scientists in the Tang Research Group have diverse scientific and cultural backgrounds. Group members with varying expertise (e.g., synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry, computational chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry, cell biology, and biomedical engineering) work closely to develop novel therapeutics. Our alumni all have successful careers in either academic institutes or pharmaceutical companies.

headshot of Weiping Tang, PhD

Weiping Tang, PhD

Janis Apinis Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the School of Pharmacy; Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of UW-Madison
Director of Medicinal Chemistry Center at the School of Pharmacy
Faculty Appointment with the Department of Chemistry in the College of Letters and Science
BS 1997 Chemistry - Peking University
MS 1999 Chemistry - New York University
PhD 2005 Organic Chemistry - Stanford University
Postdoc 2007 Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery - Harvard University

Staff Scientists, Postdoctoral Fellows, and Visiting Scholars

Deqin Cai

Postdoctoral Fellow
BS, China Pharmaceutical University
PhD, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica

Qiuhua Fan

Chemistry Staff Scientist
BS, Peking University
PhD, Peking University
Postdoc, Oregon Health and Science University and University of Arkansas

Chunrong Li

Biology Staff Scientist
PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine
Postdoc in Cancer Biology, UW-Madison
Scientist in Cancer Biology, UW-Madison

Qiwen Liu

Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, Tsinghua University
Postdoc, Rockefeller University

Ramesh Mudududdla

Chemistry Staff Scientist
PhD in Chemical Sciences, CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine
Postdoctoral Fellow in Medicinal Chemistry, Monash University, Australia

Nicholas S. Nieto

Postdoctoral Fellow
BS in Biochemistry, California State University
PhD in Biochemistry, Iowa State University
headshot of Tang Hua

Hua Tang

Postdoctoral Fellow
MS, Sichuan University
PhD, Sichuan University

Kui Zeng

Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, University of Gottingen
Postdoc, University of Oxford

Zhen Zhang

Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, Lanzhou University
Postdoc, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Boston College

Graduate Students, Visiting Graduate Students, Research Interns, and Research Specialists

Chelsi M. Almodovar-Rivera

PhD Candidate
BS, University of Puerto Rico
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences, NIH Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program Trainee

Xuankun (Katie) Chen

PhD Candidate
BS, Jilin Universsity
MS, Pharmacy, Zhejiang University
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences

Nina J. Hawkins

PhD Candidate
BS, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Purdue University
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences

Ju Hong

PhD Candidate
BS, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University
MS, Medicinal Chemistry, Zhejiang University
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences

Peijing Jia

PhD Candidate
BS, Beijing Normal University
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences

Yaxian Liao

PhD Candidate
BS, University of Science and Technology of China
PhD Candidate, UW-Chemical Biology

Thao-Vy T. Nguyen

PhD Candidate
BS, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Purdue University
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences

Yiming Nie

BS, Pharmacy, Shandong University
MS, Medicinal Chemistry, Shandong University
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences

Christopher M. Stevens

PhD Candidate
BS, University of Texas At Dallas
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences
NIH Translational Cardiovascular Science Training Program Trainee

Ira Tandon

PhD Candidate
BS, University of Colorado Denver
PhD candidate, UW-Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Program
NIH Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Training Program Trainee

Vanessa Tucker

PhD Candidate
BS, Benedict College
PhD Candidate, UW-Organic Chemistry

Yunxiang Wu

PhD Candidate
BS, Nankai University
MS, Medicinal Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica
Research Assistant at Peking University
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences

Tsung-Yu (Lucas) Yeh

PhD Candidate
BS, Taipei Medical University
MS, Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Taiwan University
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences
headshot of Yuan Zhao

Yuan Zhao

PhD Candidate
BS, Nankai University
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences

Yaxian (Sherry) Zhou

PhD Candidate
BS, Southeast University
MS, Biomedical Engineering, UW–Madison
Research Associate at MalarVx Inc.
Research Intern & Lab Manager at UW–Madison
PhD Candidate, UW-Pharmaceutical Sciences

PharmD Students and Undergraduate Students

Paulina N. Esguerra

Undergraduate student

Marissa G. Mannhardt

Undergraduate student

Henrieta Licha

Undergraduate student

Katie M. Ziegler

Undergraduate student

Ellen V. Doorn

Undergraduate student

Vaishnav Kumar (Vaish)

Undergraduate student