Sam Wang, M.D.
Assistant Professor

Sam Wang, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. His clinical focus includes cancers of the liver, pancreas, stomach, and bile duct.

Dr. Wang graduated from Stanford University, where he received a B.S. with honors in biological science and an A.B. with high honors in history. He attended medical school at Duke University School of Medicine and completed an internship and residency in general surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He then received advanced training in complex general surgical oncology through a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2014.

In the lab, Dr. Wang is interested in how the normal regenerative process mutates and leads to cancer. In addition, he is studying the molecular mechanisms behind outcome disparities that Hispanic gastric cancer patients face. The goals for his research are to identify new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes for these patients.

Dr. Wang is a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Association for Academic Surgery, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the American College of Surgeons. He is fluent in Mandarin.

Medical School

Duke University School of Medicine (2005)

Residency

UCSF School of Medicine (2012), Surgery

Fellowship

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (2014), Surgical Oncology

• Epigenetic changes in cancer
• Gastric, pancreas, and liver cancer
• Molecular mechanisms behind disparities in cancer outcomes
• Role of tissue injury and regeneration on cancer formation

Featured Publications

restrains pancreatic neoplasia formation.

Wang SC, Nassour I, Xiao S, Zhang S, Luo X, Lee J, Li L, Sun X, Nguyen LH, Chuang JC, Peng L, Daigle S, Shen J, Zhu H Gut 2018 Oct

Arid1a Has Context-Dependent Oncogenic and Tumor Suppressor Functions in Liver Cancer.

Sun X, Wang SC, Wei Y, Luo X, Jia Y, Li L, Gopal P, Zhu M, Nassour I, Chuang JC, Maples T, Celen C, Nguyen LH, Wu L, Fu S, Li W, Hui L, Tian F, Ji Y, Zhang S, Sorouri M, Hwang TH, Letzig L, James L, Wang Z, Yopp AC, Singal AG, Zhu H Cancer Cell 2017 Nov 32 5 574-589.e6

Stat3 and MMP7 contribute to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma initiation and progression.

Fukuda A, Wang SC, Morris JP, Folias AE, Liou A, Kim GE, Akira S, Boucher KM, Firpo MA, Mulvihill SJ, Hebrok M Cancer Cell 2011 Apr 19 4 441-55

Predictors and outcomes of converted minimally invasive pancreaticoduodenectomy: a propensity score matched analysis.

Hester CA, Nassour I, Christie A, Augustine MM, Mansour JC, Polanco PM, Porembka MR, Shoultz TH, Wang SC, Yopp AC, Zeh HJ, Minter RM, Surg Endosc 2019 Apr

Somatic Mutations Increase Hepatic Clonal Fitness and Regeneration in Chronic Liver Disease.

Zhu M, Lu T, Jia Y, Luo X, Gopal P, Li L, Odewole M, Renteria V, Singal AG, Jang Y, Ge K, Wang SC, Sorouri M, Parekh JR, MacConmara MP, Yopp AC, Wang T, Zhu H, Cell 2019 Apr 177 3 608-621.e12

MAP4K4 Inhibition Promotes Survival of Human Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes and Reduces Infarct Size In Vivo.

Fiedler LR, Chapman K, Xie M, Maifoshie E, Jenkins M, Golforoush PA, Bellahcene M, Noseda M, Faust D, Jarvis A, Newton G, Paiva MA, Harada M, Stuckey DJ, Song W, Habib J, Narasimham P, Aqil R, Sanmugalingam D, Yan R, Pavanello L, Sano M, Wang SC, Sampson RD, Kanayaganam S, Taffet GE, Michael LH, Entman ML, Tan TH, Harding SE, Low CMR, Tralau-Stewart C, Perrior T, Schneider MD, Cell Stem Cell 2019 Apr 24 4 579-591.e12

Incidence and comparative outcomes of periampullary cancer: A population-based analysis demonstrating improved outcomes and increased use of adjuvant therapy from 2004 to 2012.

Hester CA, Dogeas E, Augustine MM, Mansour JC, Polanco PM, Porembka MR, Wang SC, Zeh HJ, Yopp AC J Surg Oncol 2019 03 119 3 303-317

Neuroendocrine Tumors in Meckel's Diverticulum: Recommendation for Lymphadenectomy Regardless of Tumor Size Based on the NCDB Experience.

Dogeas E, Magallanes M, Porembka MR, Wang SC, Yopp AC, Polanco PM, Mansour JC, Choti MA, Zeh HJ, Augustine MM J. Gastrointest. Surg. 2019 Jan

Comparison of Overall Survival Between Preoperative Chemotherapy and Chemoradiotherapy for Resectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

Mokdad AA, Minter RM, Yopp AC, Porembka MR, Wang SC, Zhu H, Augustine MM, Mansour JC, Choti MA, Polanco PM J Natl Compr Canc Netw 2018 Dec 16 12 1468-1475

Adjuvant Therapy is Associated with Improved Survival in pT1N1 Gastric Cancer in a Heterogeneous Western Patient Population.

Hester CA, Augustine MM, Mansour JC, Polanco PM, Yopp AC, Zeh HJ, Wang SC, Porembka MR Ann. Surg. Oncol. 2018 Nov

• Jacobson Promising Investigator Award
  American College of Surgeons (2019)
• Faculty Research Fellowship
  American College of Surgeons (2017-2019)
• Health Care Disparities Research Award
  Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (2017-2019)
• Outstanding Mentor, Center for Translational Medicine
  University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2017)
• Disease-Oriented Clinical Scholar
  University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2015-2018)
• Conquer Cancer Foundation Merit Award
  American Society of Clinical Oncology (2014)
• Outstanding Resident Achievement Award
  Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco (2012)

• Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (2016)
• Association for Academic Surgery (2013)
• Society of Surgical Oncology (2013)
• UCSF Naffziger Surgical Society (2012)
• American Association for Cancer Research (2008)
• American College of Surgeons (2005)