Personal Statement
I have extensive research experience and clinical neurology expertise to serve as co-PI for the proposed trial. I have a great deal of experience conducting clinical studies in acute ischemic stroke and clinical trials in China. I have play leadership roles in the Clopidogrel in High-risk Patients with Acute Nondisabling Cerebrovascular Events (CHANCE) Trial and in the China National Stroke Registry. I am also PI for the Golden Bridge-Acute Ischemic Stroke Trial, a multicenter, cluster-randomized trial in 40 hospitals to test a multifaceted quality improvement intervention for acute ischemic stroke care. I am also director of the Tiantan Clinical Trial and Research Center for Stroke at Beijing Tiantan Hospital. As a clinician, I treat patients with cerebral aneurysms, vascular malformations, and stroke. Many patients with minor ischemic stroke have a recurrent stroke shortly after. Understanding the best treatment strategies for patients within the first week after minor ischemic stroke is critical to reducing the incidence of recurrent stroke..

a.    Wang Y, Wang Y, Zhao X, Liu L, Wang D, Wang C, Wang C, Li H, Meng X, Cui L, Jia J, Dong Q, Xu A, Zeng J, Li Y, Wang Z, Xia H, Johnston SC; Chance Investigators. (2013) Clopidogrel with aspirin in acute minor stroke or transient ischemic attack,N Engl J Med, 369(1), 11-19.
b.    Wang Y, Cui L, Ji X, Dong Q, Zeng J, Wang Y, Zhou Y, Zhao X, Wang C, Liu L, Nguyen-Huynh MN, Johnston SC, Wong L , Li H. (2011) The China National Stroke Registry for patients with acute cerebrovascular events: design, rationale, and baseline patient characteristics. Int J Stroke, 6(4), 355-61.
c.    Wang Y, Li Z, Xian Y, Zhao X, Li H, Shen H, Wang C, Liu L, Wang C, Pan Y, Wang D, PrvuBettger J, Fonarow GC, Schwamm LH, Smith SC, Peterson ED, Wang Y; Golden Bridge-AIS Investigators. (2015) Rationale and design of a cluster-randomized multifaceted intervention trial to improve stroke care quality in China: The GOLDEN BRIDGE-Acute Ischemic Stroke. Am Heart J, 169 (6), 767-774.
Positions and Honors
Positions and Employment
2004-2009        Attending Physician, Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, China
2007-2009        Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
2009-2013    Associate Director, Office of Science and Technology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, China
2009-2014    Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
2013-     Director, Office of Science and Technology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, China
2014-    Professor, Department of Neurology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
2014-    Deputy President, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, China
2014-    Director, Tiantan Clinical Trial and Research Center for Stroke, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, China
Other Experience and Professional Memberships
2009-    Organizer, Tiantan International Stroke Conference, Beijing, China
Contribution to Science
1. One area of interest and experience is in quantification and characterization of the stroke burden and treatment patterns in China. Before our 2007 paper in the International Journal of Stroke, very little information was available in the English literature on the burden of stroke in China. We reported a large and increasing burden of stroke in China associated with great financial costs. We have also reported on China’s burden of transient ischemic attacks (TIA). We found an age-standardized TIA prevalence of 2.3%, which is equivalent to 24 million people. Of those, only 16.0% were diagnosed before the study and only 5.0% received treatment. These findings suggest that despite TIA being common in China, awareness and treatment are very low. We were also the first to report the proportion of blood pressure control in stroke. Among stroke and TIA patients, we found that blood pressure was uncontrolled in 59.4% of known hypertensive patients and in 88.9% of those with diabetes. We also reported that only 75.3% of stroke or TIA patients were prescribed antiplatelet therapy. In short, our work has quantified the stroke and TIA burden in China. We have shown that the burden of stroke and TIA is high and knowledge and appropriate treatment of stroke and associated risk factors is low. This important work has laid the groundwork for strategies to improve stroke incidence and treatment in China. I have been integrally involved in all aspects of these studies and am the first author on all referenced publications.

a.    Wang YL, Wu D, Liao X, Zhang W, Zhao X, Wang YJ. (2007) Burden of stroke in China. International Journal of Stroke, 2(3), 211-213.
b.    Wang Y, Zhao X, Jiang Y, Li H, Wang L, Johnston SC, Liu L, Wong KS, Wang C, Pan Y, Jing J, Xu J, Meng X, Zhang M, Li Y, Zhou Y, Zhao W, Wang Y. (2015) Prevalence, knowledge, and treatment oftransient ischemic attacks in China. Neurology, 84, 1-8.
c.    Wang Y, Wu D, Zhou Y, Zhao X, Wang C, Liu L, Liao X, Wang Y. (2008) Survey of blood pressure control status in patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack in China. Neurological Research, 30(4), 348-355.
d.    Wang YL, Wu D, Nguyen‐Huynh MN, Zhou Y, Wang CX, Zhao ZQ, Liao XL, Liu LP, Wang YJ; Prevention of Recurrences of Stroke Study in China Investigators. (2010) Antithrombotic management of ischaemic stroke and transient ischaemic attack in China: a consecutive cross‐sectional survey. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, 37(8): 775-781.

2. A second area of interest is risk factors associated with clinical outcomes after stroke, and I have completed several studies in this area. Using data from the China National Stroke Registry, we found that those in the oldest age groups received the least amount of stroke care and experienced the highest rates of cardiac outcomes. In addition, those with decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate were at an increased risk of all-cause mortality following stroke, and this association was consistent in both diabetic and non-diabetic stroke survivors. We were also the first to report the interaction between stroke severity and statin use for the prevention of clinical outcomes. We found a significant interaction where statin use prevents death and dependence in those with non-minor strokes but not in those with minor strokes. These important findings take steps towards better understanding risk factors and treatment decisions after stroke to prevent clinical outcomes. I was involved in all aspects of the reported studies and am either co-first author or last author on all publications.

a.    Deng YX, Wang YL (co-first), Gao BQ, Wang CX, Zhao XQ, Liu LP, Wang AX, Zhou Y, Liu GF, Du WL, Zhang N, Jing J, Meng X, Xu J, Wang LY, Wang YJ. (2012) Age differences in clinical characteristics, health care, and outcomes after ischemic stroke in China. CNS neuroscience & therapeutics, 18(10), 819-826.
b.    Wang X, Wang Y (co-first), Wang C, Zhao X, Xian Y, Wang D, Liu L, Luo Y, Liu G, Wang Y. (2014) Association between estimated glomerular filtration rate and clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischaemic stroke: results from China National Stroke Registry. Age and Ageing, 43(6), 839-845.
c.    Luo Y, Wang X, Matsushita K, Wang C, Zhao X, Hu B, Liu L, Li H, Liu G, Jia Q, Wang Y, Wang Y;China National Stroke Registry Investigators. (2014) Associations Between Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate and Stroke Outcomes in Diabetic Versus Nondiabetic Patients. Stroke, 45(10), 2887-2893.
d.    Song B, Wang Y (co-first), Zhao X, Liu L, Wang C, Wang A, Du W, Wang Y. (2014) Association between Statin Use and Short-Term Outcome Based on Severity of Ischemic Stroke: A Cohort Study. PLoS One, 9(1): e84389.

3. One outcome following stroke and TIA that is of particular interest to me due to its high prevalence is recurrent stroke. We have examined the role of risk factors and treatment decisions on recurrent stroke in several studies. First, we showed that among those with minor stroke, lower admission NIHSS score, history of coronary heart disease, severe stenosis or occlusion of large cerebral artery, and multiple acute cerebral infarcts are all significant predictors of recurrent stroke within a year. Second, we showed that hypertension is associated with stroke recurrence in the small-artery occlusion stroke subtype but not in other stroke subtypes (large-artery atherosclerosis, cardioembolic, and other). Third, we showed that elevated soluble CD40 ligand independently predicted recurrent stroke in patients with minor stroke or transient ischemic attack. Fourth, we showed that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was a strong predictor of recurrent stroke with 94.9% of those with poor HRQOL having recurrent stroke compared to only 4.7% of those with good HRQOL. These findings identify and lead to further understanding of risk factors for recurrent stroke. Addressing these risk factors could lead to a reduction in incidence of recurrent stroke. I was involved in all aspects of this research and was either first or last author for the findings mentioned here.

a.    Zhang C, Zhao X, Wang C, Liu L, Ding Y, Akbary F, Pu Y, Zou X, Du W, Jing J, Pan Y, Wong KS, Wang Y, Wang Y; Chinese IntraCranial Atherosclerosis (CICAS) Study Group. (2015) Prediction factors of recurrent ischemic events in one year after minor stroke. PLoS One, 10(3), e0120105.
b.    Wang Y, Xu J, Zhao X, Wang D, Wang C, Liu L, Wang A, Meng X, Li H, Wang Y. (2013) Association of hypertension with stroke recurrence depends on ischemic stroke subtype. Stroke, 44(5), 1232-1237.
c.    Li J, Wang Y(co-first), Lin J, Wang D, Wang A, Zhao X, Liu L, Wang C, Wang Y; CHANCE Investigators. (2015) Soluble cd40l is a useful marker to predict future strokes in patients with minor stroke and transient ischemic attack. Stroke, 46(7), 1990-1992.
d.    Wang YL, Pan YS, Zhao XQ, Wang D, Johnston SC, Liu LP, Meng X, Wang AX, Wang CX, Wang YJ; CHANCE Investigators. (2014) Recurrent Stroke was Associated with Poor Quality of Life in Patients with Transient Ischemic Attack or Minor Stroke: Finding from the CHANCE Trial. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, 20(12), 1029-35.

4. I also have considerable experience conducting stroke-related clinical trials. I have played a leadership role and been extensively involved in the design, conduct and report of the Clopidogrel in High-Risk Patients with Acute Nondisabling Cerebrovascular Events (CHANCE) trial. The CHANCE trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of conducted at 114 centers in China that enrolled 5,170 patients within 24 hours after the onsest of minor ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Patients were randomized to either combination therapy of clopidogrel and aspirin or placebo and aspirin. The main findings from the trial showed that clopidogrel combined with aspirin was more effective at decreasing the 90-day risk of recurrent stroke than the placebo and aspirin treatment. We have also shown that the benefit persisted for a year after the initial event, clopidogrel in addition to aspirin improved functional status at 90 days follow-up, and is highly-cost effective in China. I am also PI for the Golden Bridge-Acute Ischemic Stroke Trial, a multicenter, 2-arm, open-label, cluster-randomized trial in 40 hospitals in China testing a quality improvement intervention or routine care for acute ischemic stroke patients. The multifaceted intervention includes an evidence-based clinical pathway, written care protocols, a quality coordinator, and a monitoring and feedback system of performance measures. This trial is ongoing and if proven effective, the multifaceted intervention model will be extended nationwide to bridge the evidence-based gap in management of acute ischemic stroke.

a.    Wang Y,Pan Y, Zhao X, Li H, Wang D, Johnston SC, Liu L, Meng X, Wang A, Wang C, Wang Y; CHANCE Investigators. (2015) Clopidogrelwith Aspirin in Acute Minor Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (CHANCE) Trial:  One-Year Outcomes.Circulation,132(1), 40-6.
b.    Wang Y, Chen W, Wang Y. (2015) Dual antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin for secondary stroke prevention. CurrCardiol Rep, 17(10), 89.
c.    Wang X, Zhao X, Johnston SC, Xian Y, Hu B, Wang C, Wang D, Liu L, fang J, Meng X, Wang A, Wang Y, Wang Y; CHANCE Investigators. (2015) Effect of clopidogrel with aspirin on functional outcome in TIA or minor stroke: CHANCE substudy. Neurology, 85(7), 573-579.
d.    Pan Y, Wang A, Liu G, Zhao K, Liu L, Wang C, Johnston SC, Wang Y*, Wang Y; CHANCE Investigators. (2014) Cost‐effectiveness of clopidogrel‐aspirin versus aspirin alone for acute transient ischemic attack and minor stroke. J Am Heart Assoc, 3(3), e000912.
Complete List of Published Work in MyBibliography:   
(Kate will insert)
Research Support
Ongoing Research Support    

D151100002015001                                                                             2015-2018
Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission, P.R. China
Minor Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack Clopidogrel Resistance Antiplatelet Strategies Research
Role: PI

81322019                                                                                        2014-2016
Outstanding Youth Fund of National Natural Science Fund, P.R. China
Cerebrovascular Disease Antiplatelet Drug Treatment of Pharmacogenomics Studies
Role: PI

NCET-13-0917                                                                                2014-2016
Ministry of Education in the New Century Talents Project, P.R. China
TIA and Minor Strokein Individualized Antiplatelet Strategy Research
Role: PI
Completed Research Support

2010BAI08B02                                                                                2011-2015
Ministry of Science and Technology, China
A National Stroke Monitoring and Quality Improvement Program Based on the China National Stroke Registry Role: PI

81000505                                                                                         2011-2013
National Natural Science Fund, P.R. China
Subtypes of Ischemic Stroke in Patients with Different Causes the miRNA Expression Changes in the Blood of Clinical Molecular Diagnostic Studies
Role: PI