About

The provided page text does not contain a professional biography or specific research information about Professor William Chang. It primarily includes general information about Yale School of Medicine's research activities, history, strategic plans, and departmental resources, but no detailed personal or professional biography of the individual professor.

Research topics

• Biology
• Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Computer Science
• Chemistry
• Biotechnology
• Internal medicine
• Biochemistry
• Cell biology
• Intensive care medicine
• Cardiology

Selected publications

• Design and Implementation of a Simple In Vitro Microfluidic Platform for Culturing Kidney Tubular Cells in the Presence of Flow

  ASAIO Journal · 2026-04-14

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Fluid shear stress plays a vital role in regulating renal epithelial cell behavior in vivo. However, conventional static culture systems fail to recapitulate these mechanical cues. To address this limitation, we developed a simple two-dimensional (2D) microfluidic device to investigate the effects of shear stress on human proximal tubular cells (hPTCs). We have called this the NephroFlux Device. It was designed using AutoCAD and fabricated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) via soft lithography, then bonded to glass coverslips using oxygen plasma treatment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe morphological changes in apical structures such as microvilli and primary cilia within the device. Flow exposure within the NephroFlux device significantly improved cell proliferation and surface coverage compared with static conditions. In addition to increased density, cells exposed to flow were characterized by an increased microvillus density and elongated primary cilia. Collectively, these results establish NephroFlux as a practical tool for the application of flow, facilitating investigation of renal mechanobiology and providing a foundation for future applications in disease modeling, nephrotoxicity testing, and artificial organ development.

  PublisherDOI

• IMPENDING THORACIC AORTIC ANEURYSM RUPTURE PRESENTING AS ACUTE HYPERCAPNIC RESPIRATORY FAILURE

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2025-03-29

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Management of Aorto-Right Ventricular Fistulas After TAVR

  JACC Case Reports · 2024 · 2 citations

  • Cardiology
  • Medicine
  • Internal medicine

  This clinical case series reviews the diagnosis and management of aorto-right ventricular fistulas post-transcatheter aortic valve replacement, highlighting 3 cases. We emphasize early detection, individualized treatment strategies, and the role of multidisciplinary heart teams in achieving favorable outcomes. Comprehensive imaging and procedural planning are crucial for successful intervention and management of this rare complication.

  PublisherDOI

• ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF DIASTOLIC DYSFUNCTION WITH BENDOPNEA

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2021-05-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• A therapeutic vascular conduit to support in vivo cell-secreted therapy

  npj Regenerative Medicine · 2021 · 4 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Intensive care medicine
  • Medicine

  A significant barrier to implementation of cell-based therapies is providing adequate vascularization to provide oxygen and nutrients. Here we describe an approach for cell transplantation termed the Therapeutic Vascular Conduit (TVC), which uses an acellular vessel as a scaffold for a hydrogel sheath containing cells designed to secrete a therapeutic protein. The TVC can be directly anastomosed as a vascular graft. Modeling supports the concept that the TVC allows oxygenated blood to flow in close proximity to the transplanted cells to prevent hypoxia. As a proof-of-principle study, we used erythropoietin (EPO) as a model therapeutic protein. If implanted as an arteriovenous vascular graft, such a construct could serve a dual role as an EPO delivery platform and hemodialysis access for patients with end-stage renal disease. When implanted into nude rats, TVCs containing EPO-secreting fibroblasts were able to increase serum EPO and hemoglobin levels for up to 4 weeks. However, constitutive EPO expression resulted in macrophage infiltration and luminal obstruction of the TVC, thus limiting longer-term efficacy. Follow-up in vitro studies support the hypothesis that EPO also functions to recruit macrophages. The TVC is a promising approach to cell-based therapeutic delivery that has the potential to overcome the oxygenation barrier to large-scale cellular implantation and could thus be used for a myriad of clinical disorders. However, a complete understanding of the biological effects of the selected therapeutic is absolutely essential.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Therapeutic vascular conduit data set - EPO

  Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) · 2020-11-24

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Raw data for EPO-secreting therapeutic vascular conduit. Raw data is for measurements of EPO levels, Hgb, and Hct for in vivo experiments and an in vitro macrophage migration assay.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Differential functional roles of fibroblasts and pericytes in the formation of tissue-engineered microvascular networks in vitro

  npj Regenerative Medicine · 2020 · 66 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Cell biology
  • Neuroscience
  • Biology

  Formation of a perfusable microvascular network (μVN) is critical for tissue engineering of solid organs. Stromal cells can support endothelial cell (EC) self-assembly into a μVN, but distinct stromal cell populations may play different roles in this process. Here we describe the differential effects that two widely used stromal cell populations, fibroblasts (FBs) and pericytes (PCs), have on μVN formation. We examined the effects of adding defined stromal cell populations on the self-assembly of ECs derived from human endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) into perfusable μVNs in fibrin gels cast within a microfluidic chamber. ECs alone failed to fully assemble a perfusable μVN. Human lung FBs stimulated the formation of EC-lined μVNs within microfluidic devices. RNA-seq analysis suggested that FBs produce high levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Addition of recombinant HGF improved while the c-MET inhibitor, Capmatinib (INCB28060), reduced μVN formation within devices. Human placental PCs could not substitute for FBs, but in the presence of FBs, PCs closely associated with ECs, formed a common basement membrane, extended microfilaments intercellularly, and reduced microvessel diameters. Different stromal cell types provide different functions in microvessel assembly by ECs. FBs support μVN formation by providing paracrine growth factors whereas PCs directly interact with ECs to modify microvascular morphology.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Abstract 13574: A Rare Case of Giant Cell Arteritis With Coronary Artery Involvement

  Circulation · 2020-11-17

  article

  Introduction: Coronary artery involvement in patients with systemic vasculitis is relatively rare, but can be life threatening. There is a well-known occurrence of coronary artery vasculitis in Kawasaki disease and Takayasu arteritis, however, coronary arteritis caused by giant cell arteritis (GCA) has been documented in only a handful of reports. Case report: A 65-year-old woman with a history of GCA complicated by cerebrovascular stenosis s/p bypass and coronary artery disease (CAD) s/p DES to mid-left anterior descending (LAD) 3 years prior, without cardiac risk factors, who presented with shortness of breath and 2-3 hours of progressive non-radiating pressure like midsternal chest pain. Vital signs were stable with an unremarkable physical exam. EKG showed new T-wave inversions in V4-V6, I, II, aVL. Labs were significant for Trop T 0.17 and CRP 2.02. Echocardiogram showed EF 30% with wall motion abnormalities (ECHO 9 months prior showed EF 69% with no wall motion abnormalities). Coronary angiography revealed 99% in-stent-restenosis (ISR) of mid-LAD, 50% tubular OM1 stenosis, and 100% RCA occlusion with right-to-right collateral (figure 2). The patient underwent CABG with a left internal mammary artery graft to LAD and saphenous vein graft to RCA. Post-operative EF was 50%, and she was discharged on post-operative day 5. Discussion: In patients with systemic vasculitis and no identifiable CAD risk factors presenting with acute coronary syndrome, there has to be a high suspicion for coronary arteritis. Our case strongly suggests that GCA can involve the coronary arteries given the rapid progression of ISR with triple vessel disease in the absence of cardiac risk factors. Although advancements in imaging techniques have led to improvements in the diagnosis of systemic vasculitis, standardized imaging for evaluating coronary vasculature is lacking. Larger retrospective case studies are needed in order to clearly delineate the association between GCA and CAD.

  PublisherDOI

• Increasing Cardiac Biomarkers in the Setting of Strenuous Exercise

  American Journal of Medical Case Reports · 2020-07-03

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Exercise is recommended for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Exercise-associated elevations of cardiac biomarkers can be present especially after prolonged and strenuous endurance exercise bouts but the exact mechanism and clinical significance is unclear [1]. This case report is of a patient with recent increase in exercise activity who presented to the emergency department with atypical symptoms and increasing cardiac biomarkers concerning for myocardial infarction. He was admitted and taken for left heart catheterization which showed non-obstructive coronary artery disease. The lack of awareness of this phenomenon may lead to inappropriate management of these patients.

  PublisherDOI

• Human Amniotic Membrane as a Novel Scaffold for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Kidney Organoids

  Journal of the American Society of Nephrology · 2020-10-01

  articleSenior author

  Background: Human inducible pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be differentiated into kidney organoids that could be used to tissue-engineer functional renal tissue. However, there are several challenges to therapeutic implementation. Among these is how to deliver organoids in a manner that would allow for both vascularization and filtrate outflow. Previous research has demonstrated in animal models, that kidney organoids can be perfused when implanted in the kidney subcapsular space. One limitation though is that there is no obvious filtrate outflow tract. Furthermore, in ESRD patients there would likely be significant fibrosis or even cystic disease that would prevent successful perfusion and filtrate outflow of kidney organoids implanted in a similar manner. Alternative heterotopic organoid implantation strategies should be considered. Examples include, but are not limited to, peritoneal implantation (with peritoneal dialysis catheter drainage) or tissue engineered tubular constructs for ureteral anastomoses. Here we describe a biomaterial, decellularized human amniotic membrane (dhAM), that could be used for differentiation of iPSC derived kidney organoids. Because kidney organoids will be exposed to mechanical forces in heterotopic implant locations, we examine the effects of uniaxial stretch on the structure of kidney organoid tubules. Methods: We decellularized hAM with mild detergents, and differentiated kidney organoids in a manner previously described by the Little research group. We constructed a titanium stretch device that allowed for kidney organoid differentiation and uniaxial stretch of the dhAM acutely or over 10 days. We performed multiphoton microscopy to image the kidney organoids and then used 3D reconstructions to measure tubular volumes. Results: We have observed that iPSC-derived kidney organoids can be differentiated on dhAM, and that uniaxial stretch of the dhAM elongates and increases tubular volumes within the kidney organoids, without tubular disruption or increased cell death. Conclusions: dhAM is a promising scaffold for studying effects of mechanical forces on human kidney organoids in vitro. dhAMs could be used to facilitate the implantation of kidney organoids into the peritoneum or other heterotopic locations. The constructs have the flexibility to be used as a patch, modified into tubes after rolling, or form saclike structures. Funding: Other NIH Support - NIH NIBIB

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Investigating endothelial cell and glomerular anastomoses to advance kidney tissue engineering

  NIH · $766k · 2015–2019

Frequent coauthors

• Nadine Arnold

  University of Sheffield

  16 shared

• Allan Lawrie

  Imperial College London

  16 shared

• S. Kim Suvarna

  16 shared

• Alexander Rothman

  Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  16 shared

• Charlie Elliot

  University of Sheffield

  16 shared

• Oliver J. Watson

  Medical Research Council

  16 shared

• Andrew J. Swift

  16 shared

• Robin Condliffe

  16 shared

Labs

• NephrologyPI

Education

• M.D., Nephrology

  Yale School of Medicine

• Ph.D.

  Yale University

Awards & honors

• Kidney X: Artificial Kidney Prize (2023)
• Invited panelist (2021)
• Blavatnik Fund Semifinalist (2019)
• Yale Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale (2012)
• Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, Junior Faculty Schol…