Leyao Wang

Wang Leyao is an epidemiologist specializing in human microbiome research who left her position as an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she was also affiliated with the National Institutes of Health as part of its 2024-2025 climate and health scholars cohort, to join the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) in China as a senior research fellow at its Institute of Human Immunology.

As reported by the South China Morning Post, Wang's departure followed significant US federal research funding reductions under the White House administration, part of a broader wave of Chinese-American scientists relocating to China amid instability in US science funding.

Wang announced her new position via SMART's official social media account on August 30, 2025. Her research has advanced understanding of how microbes regulate immune responses and how climate change affects the microbiome. At SMART, she joins other senior researchers recruited from the US, including award-winning HIV researcher Shan Liang, who now leads the Institute of Human Immunology, and former NIH senior investigator Lu Wei.