YSM Issue 90.4

PETER WANG (TD ‘18)
A MODERN DAY RENAISSANCE-MAN
►BY ERIN WANG
UNDERGRADUATE PROFILE
IMAGE COURTESY OF ERIN WANG
►Peter has a wide variety of interests, from molecular biology to
hiking through Europe.
Scientists are often stereotyped as people buried deep in research papers
and focused singularly on the pursuit of science—this is hardly the
case for current Yale College senior Peter Wang (TD ’18). Although he
is majoring in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, his interests
range from photography and poetry to violin-playing and graphic
design. Science first caught his attention in middle school, but he wanted
to be an architect when he was younger. “I got interested in appreciating
structures, appreciating how things connect and form,” Wang said.
This interest steered him towards science—specifically, to biomolecules.
“The complexity and sheer scale of molecules are incredible,” he said.
Wang’s scientific endeavors took off at Yale. Here, he has been immersed
in classes that give him more nuanced understandings of subjects.
Moreover, he has been able to engage in cutting-edge RNA research:
the summer after his first year at Yale, Wang began working
on methods to decipher the interactions and conformations of long
non-coding RNAs in Matthew Simon’s lab, where he has been ever
since. These RNAs play various important roles in cells, such as regulating
gene expression, so studying their structures and functions is a
worthwhile endeavor. He has thrown himself into research with a fervent
passion—self-evident in his current juggling of multiple independent
research projects within his lab and his recent second-author publication
in ACS Biochemistry.
Not only is Wang passionate about studying science himself, but he
also wants to make science more accessible to others. In fact, his interest
in communicating biology drove him towards graphic design. “Biology,
because of its complexity, relies on a lot of concepts and processes that
you need very clear visual tools to help people understand,” Wang said.
He believes that in many cases, art is one of the most effective ways to
improve science communication to the general public.
Similarly, Wang has tried to improve the accessibility of research to
students at Yale. He, along with his teammates at the Yale Undergraduate
Research Association (YURA), felt that students were having difficulty
searching through faculty to find suitable research mentors due to different
department website layouts and the fact that key information, like
faculty research interests, was often difficult to find. To this end, he led
a five-person team in a yearlong endeavor to build the YURA Research
Database, the first of its kind at Yale. This database gives students an easy
way to sort through professors and their research interests. Under Wang’s
guidance, the YURA Research Database is now an invaluable tool for students
looking for research at Yale, and another improved version is in the
works.
Wang is also an avid environmentalist. As president of the Yale Student
Environmental Coalition, he helped send four Yale student observers
to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
He participated in The GREEN program, through which students learn
more about the environment by global exploration. Through the program,
he traveled to Iceland and Hawaii—places that have adopted virtually
fully renewable energy standards. From these trips, Wang learned
more about how their communities maintain sustainable lifestyles.
Along the way, he built friendships with locals, learned more about their
cultures, and experienced the natural beauty these places provided.
Outside of exploring science, Wang also enjoys exploring the world.
Recently, he went on a month-long solo trek in Europe. “I had never
been to Europe. I wanted to travel. I wanted to explore somewhere I’d
never been,” Wang said. He plotted a ten-city path through Europe, using
Airbnb to find places to stay. “That was probably the most adventurous,
exciting, packed, and happy month of my life,” Wang said. The
most memorable moments of his journey took place at a Zürich train
station. “The sunset reflected gold on the rail tracks, and the late evening
trains brought back tired home-bound people from their work.
It kind of encapsulated a lot of what that trip was—catching beautiful
sights, and feeling what home felt like for different people around Europe,”
Wang said.
Wang is currently working on applications to graduate school. In ten
years, he hopes to be working in academia on exciting projects in a lab
with people he enjoys being around, all the while making meaningful
contributions to science. He is not certain if he will be working on
non-coding RNA in the future, but he would not hesitate to investigate
it if the opportunity arises.
36 Yale Scientific Magazine October 2017 www.yalescientific.org