“There is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation, and for some men it is quite as difficult to record an observation in brief and plain language.“
Sir William Osler (1849 – 1919)
Alan Wong
Graduate Student,
Dept of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
College of Pharmacy
NIH/NCCIH F31 Predoctoral Fellow
Research Project: Many top-selling botanical dietary supplements are used by women as natural alternatives to managing menopausal symptoms. By reanalyzing existing specimens from prior clinical studies, this project will ascertain if consumption of these supplements can significantly alter hormone levels. Also, preclinical assays will be developed to predict the safety of botanical dietary supplements as modulators of estrogen levels and metabolism.
“Exploring the wonders of nature”
Linus Pauling Institute Newsletter, Fall 2019
Biography: Alan Wong completed his undergraduate training in geology and biochemistry at Northwestern University. As time went on, however, his passion gradually shifted from studying chemical signatures in fossils to studying plants. After an early job analyzing products for the agrochemical, food, and botanical industries, he became interested in exploring the health effects of botanical dietary supplements.
He now focuses on connecting basic research on botanicals to their use in a clinical setting. Using some of latest mass spectrometry technologies, Alan seeks to answer previously unsolvable questions on the effects of these supplements in humans.
He is especially interested in understanding how natural products – when provided as a dietary supplement – affect hormone levels in the body. After graduation, Alan plans to take scientific tools like mass spectrometry into a clinical setting. His hope is to use these cutting-edge techniques to develop powerful bioassays that will help advance the treatment of disease.
