Wang Enduo (; born 18 November 1944), also known as En-duo Wang, is a Chinese biochemist and molecular biologist, and a professor at the

Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology The Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences are a research institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Shanghai, established on July 3, 1999. When it was created, it was one of four basic science research institutions of China. The organi ...

. Recognized for her research on interaction between

transfer RNA Transfer RNA (abbreviated tRNA and formerly referred to as sRNA, for soluble RNA) is an adaptor molecule composed of RNA, typically 76 to 90 nucleotides in length (in eukaryotes), that serves as the physical link between the mRNA and the amino ac ...

s (tRNA) and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS), she has been elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and of The World Academy of Sciences.

Biography

Wang was born on 18 November 1944 in

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, with her ancestral home in Zhucheng,

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

Province. After graduating from the Department of Chemistry of Qufu Teachers College in 1965, she was admitted to the

Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry The Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences are a research institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People ...

to study under

Chen-Lu Tsou Zou Chenglu (; 17 May 1923 – 23 November 2006), better known as Chen-Lu Tsou, was a Chinese biochemist. He was a professor of the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and later a professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Biophysics, C ...

, in the last class of graduate students accepted before the Cultural Revolution. When the Cultural Revolution began a year later, she was sent to work on a farm in Tianjin for a year and half. In 1975, she transferred to her alma mater Qufu Teachers College in Shandong as a chemistry lecturer, in order to be reunited with her husband. When scientific research resumed after the end of the Cultural Revolution, in 1978 she was admitted for the second time to the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and became the first graduate student of the renowned scientist

Wang Yinglai Wang Yinglai (; 13 November 1907 – 5 May 2001), also known as Ying-Lai Wang, was a Chinese biochemist recognized as the first person to create synthetic insulin, a major scientific breakthrough that produced a biologically active compound fr ...

after the Cultural Revolution. She was awarded a Fogarty Fellowship by the US National Institutes of Health to conduct postdoctoral research at the University of California, Davis from 1984 to 1987. After she returned to Shanghai in 1987, Wang Yinglai chose her to succeed him as principal investigator of the institute's research on the interaction between enzymes and

nucleic acid Nucleic acids are biopolymers, macromolecules, essential to all known forms of life. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomers made of three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main cl ...

s. However, she was soon diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery. She resumed her work four months after surgery. Wang has published more than 100 papers in scientific journals. Her studies of the interaction between

s (tRNA) and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) are widely cited. She has advised more than 30 graduate students or postdoctoral researchers.

Honours and recognition

Wang was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2005, and a fellow of The World Academy of Sciences in 2006, for advancing "understanding about the accuracy of protein biosynthesis based on interaction between aaRSs and tRNAs, the co-revolution of aaRSs/tRNA, and the mechanism of disease-associated mutations of tRNAs in mitochondria." Wang has been awarded many prizes, including: *Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award, First Class (2000) *

State Natural Science Award The State Science and Technology Prizes () are the highest honors conferred by the national government of the People's Republic of China in science and technology, in order to recognize citizens and organizations who have made remarkable contribut ...

, Second Class (2001) *Shanghai Women Innovation Award (2002) *

Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize The Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation (HLHL, ) is a Hong Kong-based non-government organisation which annually bestows prizes upon Chinese scientists. It was established on 30 March 1994, with funds donated from the charitable foundations of Ho Sin Han ...

(2006) *Outstanding Supervisor Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2003, 2005, 2006, 2008) Wang was elected to the 10th and 11th National People's Congress. In 2017,

Shanghai Television Shanghai Television () is a TV station based in Shanghai, China. It was founded in early 1980s. Its old web site address was www.stv.sh.cn. In 2001, it was merged with Radio Shanghai, Eastern Radio Shanghai, Oriental Television Station and Shanghai ...

broadcast a documentary of her life story as part of a series about ten famous scientists in biomedical research.

Personal life

Wang is married to Yu Yingchuan (于英川), her college classmate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Enduo 1944 births Living people Biologists from Chongqing Chemists from Chongqing Chinese biochemists Chinese molecular biologists Chinese women chemists Chinese women biologists Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Delegates to the 10th National People's Congress Delegates to the 11th National People's Congress Members of the Jiusan Society Qufu Normal University alumni TWAS fellows University of California, Davis alumni