Overview
Dr. Tania Wong is an Assistant Professor and Chancellor Scholar in the Department of Microbiology,
Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Her laboratory, based within the
Center for Immunity and Inflammation (CII), investigates host-pathogen interactions, with a particular focus on
how airway pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae manipulate host metabolic
responses to evade immune clearance.
Dr. Wong's prior work demonstrated that K. pneumoniae associated with prolonged infections activates
host metabolic pathways that fuel mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), creating a milieu that
fosters an immune response permissive of infection. Her current research expands on these findings by
exploring how specific metabolic pathways and/or metabolites influence immunity and infection outcomes.
She employs metabolic and dietary interventions to promote effective immune responses and pathogen
clearance. In parallel, her lab investigates how immune-signaling metabolites that accumulate during infection
directly affect bacterial pathogens, potentially driving the selection of strains better adapted to survive in
oxidant-rich environments.
Dr. Wong received her PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and completed her postdoctoral
training at Columbia University in New York. She is a recipient of the NIH/NHLBI K99/R00 Pathway to
Independence Award and serves as the Scientific Director of the new spatial metabolomics facility at the CII.
Education
PHD, 2016, University of Melbourne, Australia
BS, 2009, University of Melbourne, Australia
Curriculum Vitae
View CVLanguages
French
