Dr. Zinan Wang obtained his bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from Beijing Forestry University in 2013. During his undergraduate study, he developed a keen interest in entomology, spending extensive time in the forests researching invasive forest pests such as Asian longhorned beetles. In 2015, Zinan moved to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies in Entomology, where he earned his master’s degree at Louisiana State University in 2017. His research there focused on the overwintering ecology and physiology of an invasive insect pest, which threatens various economically important ornamental plants in the U.S. His findings were published in prominent entomological journals, including Florida Entomologist, Environmental Entomology and the Journal of Insect Physiology, and he also authored extension papers on this pest and its natural enemies.

Dr. Wang then pursued a dual-major Ph.D. in Entomology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior at Michigan State University (MSU), completing it in 2021. His doctoral research addressed how certain insect species evolve high desiccation resistance to survive desert environments, with his findings published in reputable journals eLife and Science Advances. After his Ph.D., he continued as a postdoctoral fellow at MSU, further exploring physiological adaptations in insects.

In 2024, Dr. Wang joined the Department of Entomology at the University of Kentucky as a tenure-track assistant professor. His lab integrates molecular biology, analytical chemistry, computational biology and evolutionary biology to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the evolution of novel physiological traits in arthropods and their adaptations to extreme environments.