Principal Investigator

Leo L. Wang, MD, PhD, FAAD

Assistant Professor of Dermatology

Assistant Professor of Bioengineering

Dr. Leo Wang is a physician-scientist, bioengineer, and board-certified dermatologist. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with his BA and MS through the Roy and Diana Vagelos Scholarship. He then completed the MD-PhD program at Penn and received his PhD in Bioengineering with Dr. Jason Burdick. Following this, he completed clinical dermatology residency at the University of Pennsylvania in the research track, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. George Cotsarelis. Dr. Wang’s interests lie at the interface of mathematics, chemistry, engineering, and clinical dermatology, through which he has helped to pioneer the field of dermatologic bioengineering.

Dr. Wang is the recipient of numerous grants from the NIH, including an NIH F30 predoctoral fellowship, and K08 postdoctoral fellowship. He was recently awarded a highly competitive DP5 Early Independence Award from the NIH NIH Director's High-Risk, High-Reward Program. Additionally, he has received grant funding from the Dermatology Foundation, American Heart Association, Alopecia Areata Foundation, Center for Human Appearances, Wharton Innovation Fund, and Penn HealthTech. His research has formed the basis of seven patents licensed to multiple startups. Dr. Wang is the recent founder of Incuta Therapeutics, a startup based on injectable treatments for autoimmune skin diseases.

Dr. Wang treats patients at Pennsylvania Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and staffs the resident clinic and inpatient consult services. He practices medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology with areas of expertise in autoimmune skin disease, hidradenitis suppurativa, and alopecia areata. Outside of lab, Dr. Wang enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, playing sports, fishing, and skiing.

Research Team

Elaine Kim

Research Specialist
Elaine graduated from Swarthmore College with her BS in Chemistry. Her research focus is in analytical chemistry approaches to understand polymer-drug conjugation, and in developing polymer microcapsules for sustained drug delivery.
Dara Bakar, MD

Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Bakar is a clinical immunology fellow. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with his BA in Economics. He subsequently completed his MD at Brown University, and internal medicine residency at NYU. His research focus is in development of polymeric devices for allergy testing.
Zheng-Chi Lee

Research Assistant
Zheng-Chi is a student at the University of Pennsylvania studying Biochemistry and Chemistry through the Vagelos program. His research focus is in development of advanced microfabrication techniques for drug delivery to the skin.
Junjira Tanum, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Tanum earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in materials science and biomedical engineering in Thailand, followed by her PhD in chemical engineering at Yonsei University in South Korea. Her research focus is development of nanomaterials and controlled delivery systems for wound healing.
Kyulee Kim

Master’s Student
Kyulee is a student at the University of Pennsylvania studying bioengineering. Her research focus is on advanced 3D nanoprinting approaches and the design of polymeric medical devices.
Harry Dang

MD/PhD Student
Harry is an MD/PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Richmond with his BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He is studying approaches to enable nucleic acid delivery across the skin barrier.
Arben Nace

Research Specialist
Benny is a veterinarian with decades of experience in small animal procedures and surgeries. He focuses on animal testing and in developing models of skin disease.
Jeffrey Chen

PhD Student
Jeff is a PhD student in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University with his BS in Biomedical Engineering. He is developing hydrogels to control T cell function in the skin.