Yongming (Simon) Sang
Professor
Animal Genomics and Health
Focus Group Leader – Animal Science
Supervisor/Director: ImmunoGenomics Laboratory
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
College of Agriculture

Contact Information:
Office Location:  221C CARP Building
Lab Location:  202/204 Lawson Hall 
Office Telephone:  615-963-5183
FAX:  615-963-1557
E-mail: ysang@tnstate.edu

Research Interests: 
My research efforts are directed at elucidating, molecularly and functionally, animal immune and metabolic genes, in particular those that have antimicrobial activities and therapeutic potential. We are using combined approaches of bioinformatics, genetics and molecular biology to elucidate genes or gene families that are potentially important in animal health. My current projects are focused on the following three directions: (1) antimicrobial regulation against animal viral and bacterial diseases underlying immunometabolic function of immune molecules and cells; (2) Swine genome projects, animal comparative immunogenetics, and immunoreagent development; (3) Development of novel IFN-based antivirals and alternatives to antibiotics. 

Selected Publications: 
Fleming DS, Miller LC, Li J, Van Geelen A, Sang Y. Transcriptomic Analysis of Liver Indicates Novel Vaccine to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Virus Promotes Homeostasis in T-Cell and Inflammatory Immune Responses Compared to a Commercial Vaccine in Pigs. Front Vet Sci. 2022 Mar 24;9:791034. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.791034.

Khwatenge CN, Pata M, Miller LC, Sang Y. (2021) Immunometabolic Dysregulation at the Intersection of Obesity and COVID-19. Front Immunology 2021 Oct 19;12:732913. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.732913.

Sang Y, Miller LC, Nelli RK, Gimenez-Lirola LG (2021) Harness Organoid Models for Virological Studies in Animals: A Cross-Species Perspective. Front Microbiology, 2021 Sep 16;12:725074. | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.725074

Tian Y, DeJesus FA, Khwatenge C, Li J, Robert J, Sang Y. (2021) Virus-Targeted Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses Implicate Ranaviral Interaction with Host Interferon Response in Frog Virus 3-infected Frog Tissues. Viruses 2021, 13(7), 132.

Tian Y, Khwatenge C, Li J, DeJesus FA, Robert J, Sang Y. (2021) Virus-Targeted Transcriptomic Analyses in Frog Virus 3-infected Frog Tissues Reveal Non-Coding Regulatory Elements in Intergenic Regions of Ranaviral Genome and Their Molecular Interaction with Host Immune Response. Front Immunol. 2021 Jun 17;12:705253.  

Sang ER, Tian Y, Miller LC, Sang Y. (2020) Epigenetic evolution of ACE2 and IL-6 genes as non-canonical interferon-stimulated genes correlates to COVID-19 susceptibility in vertebrates. Genes (Basel). 2021 Jan 25;12(2):154.

Lopez L, Sang PC, Pate M, Tian Y, Sang Y. (2020) Dysregulated Interferon Response Underlying Severe COVID19. Viruses, 2020, 12(12), 1433.

Fleming D, Miller LC, Tian Y, Li Y, Ma W, Sang Y. (2020) Impact of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus, Influenza B, and Their Coinfection on Antiviral Response in the Porcine Lung. Pathogens, 2020, 9, 934. 

McCoy K, Peterson A., Tian Y, Sang Y. (2020) Immunogenetic Association Underlying Severe COVID19. Vaccines, 2020, 8(4), 700.

Sang ER, Tian Y, Gong Y, Miller LC, Sang Y. (2020) Integrate structural analysis, isoform diversity, and interferon-inductive propensity of ACE2 to refine SARS-COV2 susceptibility prediction in vertebrates. Heliyon. 2020 Sep;6(9):e04818

Click here for full list of publications. 

Teaching:
AG3340 – Anatomy & Physiology of Domestic Animals (undergraduate course) 
AG3430 – Animal Health and Diseases (undergraduate course) 
AG5160 – Animal Genetics and Breeding (graduate course)