Member spotlight: Zihan Wang

Zihan Wang is a Ph.D. student under the supervision of Dr. Jianping Wu in the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta, Canada. She earned her bachelor's degrees in food science and technology from Northwest A&F University (China) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA) in 2019.

Zihan won first place in session one of the Student ePitch Competition during the 2022 Canadian Lipids and Proteins Conference. Her presentation was titled "Peptides with ACE inhibitory activity is a not common feature of ACE2 activating peptides."

Can you tell us a bit of your research and what problems your work aims to solve?

I am currently working on antihypertensive peptides. Antihypertensive peptides have been widely identified and studied from various sources of proteins. Although the vast majority of antihypertensive peptides are characterized as ACE-inhibitory peptides, other mechanisms including ACE2 upregulation have recently demonstrated great potential for hypertension treatment. My project aims to expand the research of antihypertensive peptides from ACE-inhibitory peptides to ACE2-upregulatory peptides.

How long have you been an AOCS member and what types of activities have you participated in?

I joined AOCS this year and therefore I am a new AOCS student member. This was my first time presenting my research work at AOCS. I am sure I will participate in more AOCS events in the near future.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Typically, I check my mailbox and reply to important emails in the mornings, before heading to my office and start my paper or lab work. After lunch, I usually take a rest for a while, and continue my work in the afternoons. I usually process experimental data before leaving my office and discuss the results with my supervisor if necessary before moving to the next step.

You have won the 2022 Canadian Lipids and Proteins Conference Student ePitch Competition. Can you share with us your feelings or any words of wisdom?

I felt really excited when I knew that I won this competition. It was great practice for me! Winning this award makes me feel more confident in my research and it further encourages me to communicate my research to the peers and the public in the future.