Benjamin Wang

Assistant Professor, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
School of Medicine

Assistant Professor, Pediatrics
School of Medicine

Pathogenesis, Salmonella, evolution, microbiology, genetics, genomics, systems biology, bacteriophages

Ben Wang Lab Website

Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University (2021-2026, mentor: Denise Monack)

Bacterial pathogens are constantly bombarded by external stresses, yet they have evolved remarkable strategies to survive, adapt, and thrive. Our lab studies this evolutionary arms race by focusing on Salmonella enterica, one of the most extensively sequenced and genetically diverse bacterial pathogens in the world. Salmonella causes more than 200 million infections each year, ranging from self-limiting gastroenteritis to invasive bloodstream infection and life-threatening enteric fever, with a disproportionate impact on pediatric health. We combine high-throughput functional genomics, computational and systems biology, molecular microbiology, and experimental evolution to uncover how Salmonella adapts to two major forces shaping its evolution: the human host and diverse bacteriophages. By systematically mapping genotype–phenotype relationships at scale, we aim to understand how these pressures shape pathogen evolution, virulence, and ecological success while revealing new vulnerabilities for therapeutic intervention against pediatric infectious diseases.

NIH NIAID K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (Role: PI) | Sept 2025-current
Salmonella Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) Best Oral Talk Award | 2025
A.P. Giannini Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (Stanford) | 2023-2025
Maternal and Child Health Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship (Stanford) | 2022-2024
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award T32 (Stanford) | 2021-2022
National Science Foundation (NSF) GRFP Award (MIT) | 2015-2021
Recognition for Teaching Award (MIT) | 2018
Perpall Speaking Competition, winner (Caltech) | 2015
Perpall Speaking Competition, finalist (Caltech) | 2014
Amgen Scholar (Caltech) | 2014
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Caltech) | 2012, 2013

Benjamin Wang received his undergraduate training at Caltech, where his work with Dianne Newman first sparked his interest in bacterial pathogenesis. He earned his Ph.D. at MIT with Michael Laub and Katharina Ribbeck, studying mucus–microbe interactions, and completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford with Denise Monack, where he used high-throughput functional genomics to investigate how genetically diverse Salmonella isolates contribute to different human diseases. He will join the faculty at UC Irvine in November 2026 as an Assistant Professor.

#11. Wang, B.X., Narasimhan, R., Brady, A., Wenner, N.A., Perez-Sepulveda, B., Hughes, K.T., Hinton, J.C.D., Monack, D.M. (2026). 'Native host-phage networks reveal multilayered defense and gut-active antiphage immunity.' Cell Host & Microbe, Accepted in principle.

#10. Nguyen, T.H*., Wang, B.X*., Diaz, O.R*., Rajendram, M., McKenna, J.A., Butler, D.S.C., Hokamp, K., Hinton, J.C.D., Monack, D.M., Huang, K.C. (2025). ‘Profiling Salmonella transcriptional dynamics during macrophage infection using a comprehensive reporter library.’ Nature Microbiology.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-025-01953-5

#9. Wang, B.X., Leschiner, D., Luo, L., Tuncel, M., Hokamp, K., Hinton, J.C.D., Monack, D.M. (2024).
‘High-throughput fitness experiments reveal specific vulnerabilities of human-adapted Salmonella during stress and infection.’ Nature Genetics.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-01779-7

#8. Wang, B.X., Butler, D.S.C., Hamblin, M., Monack, D. (2023). ‘One species, different diseases: the unique molecular mechanisms that underlie the pathogenesis of typhoidal Salmonella infections.’ Current Opinion in Microbiology.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2022.102262

#7. Wang, B.X*., Takagi, J*., McShane, A., Park, J.H., Aoki, K., Griffin, C., Teschler, J., Kitts, G., Minzer, G., Tiemeyer, M., Hevey, R., Yildiz, F., Ribbeck, K. (2022). ‘Host-derived O-glycans inhibit toxigenic conversion by a virulence-encoding phage in Vibrio cholerae.’ The EMBO Journal. https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111562

#6. Jones, R.D., Qian, Y., Ilia, K., Wang, B.X., Laub, M.T., Del Vecchio, D., Weiss, R. (2022). 'Robust and tunable signal processing in mammalian cells via engineered covalent modification cycles.' Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29338-w

#5. Wang, B.X., Cady, K.C., Oyarce, G.C., Ribbeck, K., Laub, M.T. (2021). ‘Two-component systems regulate diverse virulence-associated traits in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.’ Applied and Environmental Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.03089-20

#4. Wang, B.X*., Wheeler, K.M*., Cady, K.C., Lehoux, S., Cummings, R.D., Laub, M.T., Ribbeck, K. (2021).
‘Mucin glycans signal through the sensor kinase RetS to inhibit virulence-associated traits in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.’ Current Biology.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.09.088

#3. Schaefers, M.M., Wang, B.X., Boisvert, N.M., Martini, S.J., Bonney, S.L., Marshall, C.W., Laub, M.T., Cooper, V.S., Priebe, G.P. (2021). 'Evolution towards virulence in a Burkholderia two-component system.' mBio. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01823-21

#2. Wang, B.X*., Wu, C.M*., Ribbeck, K. (2020). ‘Home, sweet home: how mucus accommodates our microbiota.' The FEBS Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.15504

#1. Glasser, N.R., Wang, B.X., Hoy, J.A., Newman, D.K. (2017). ‘The pyruvate and a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complexes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa catalyze pyocyanin and phenazine-1-carboxylic acid reduction via the subunit dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase’, Journal of Biological Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M116.772848

*Denotes co-first authorship

NIH NIAID K99AI190131

Cellular and Molecular Biosciences

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=7387

Last updated
09/03/2026